Laurie Townshend
Ontario
Laurie Townshend is a writer, director, and former middle school drama teacher who believes that before we shape stories, stories shape us. Her award-winning debut feature, A Mother Apart (2024) follows poet-activist Staceyann Chin on a journey of healing and radical mothering. The film earned Laurie the DGC Allan King Award for Best Direction in a Canadian Documentary and in addition to being part of POV’s 38th season on PBS, has screened at more than 20 festivals, including Hot Docs, BlackStar, DOC NYC, BFI Flare, and Frameline.
She is now developing Tallawah, a stirring coming-of-age documentary about the young women of a burgeoning Jamaican basketball league, fighting for a future of their own making. In 2025, Tallawah was one of 16 projects selected for the Chicken & Egg Films Research & Development Grant, supported by Netflix.
Laurie's much-anticipated podcast, That One Teacher: Reunion series brings together adult changemakers with the teacher who changed them. It is scheduled to launch officially in 2026.
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Main Reel
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A Mother Apart
Dates: 2024
Link: IMDB
Roles: Director, Co-Writer
Type: Indie Feature
Genre: Documentary
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The Akua Benjamin Legacy Project: celebrating 50 years of black activism
Episodes: S1.E4
Dates: 2017
Link: IMDB
Role: Director
Type: Digital Series
Genre: Documentary
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The Railpath Hero
Dates: 2013
Link: IMDB
Roles: Director, Co-Writer
Type: Short
Genre: Drama, Sports
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