GOOD TALK WITH LAURIE COYLE

Laurie Coyle explores the beauty and struggles of people excluded from our history books in her documentary filmmaking and writing. She began her career co-authoring a groundbreaking study in women’s labor history, Women at Farah, which continues to be taught in gender, labor and Chicana studies. Her most recent film, ADIOS AMOR: The Search for Maria Moreno, was broadcast on PBS VOCES and won an Imagen Award as part of the series. PBS American Masters aired her debut documentary OROZCO: Man of Fire (co-director Rick Tejada-Flores). Laurie has broadened the reach and impact of her films by engaging audiences directly. From the British Museum and Art Institute of Chicago, to first generation immigrant students and farmworker associations throughout rural California, her film-related presentations connect farm labor and migration, motherhood and activism, social justice and public art, historical narratives and community empowerment. Laurie co-founded the bilingual storytelling initiative MiHistoria and produces its online story archive www.mihistoria.net. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities are among the foundations that have supported her projects multiple times. In addition to directing and producing, Laurie has worked as a writer and story consultant with over 50 award-winning documentary filmmakers, including Lourdes Portillo, Loni Ding, Deann Borshay Liem, Leo Chiang, Jeff Adachi, Abby Ginzberg, Avon Kirkland, Tad Nakamura, Sally Rubin, Andrea Meller and Ray Telles. She has been a BAVC Media Makers and Latino Producers Academy fellow.