about
laura plotkin

Laura Plotkin is an award-winning documentary producer and director, who focuses on the use of personal narratives to challenge mainstream stereotypes. She portrays mavericks — people who accomplish what others consider impossible.  

Known for her painterly visuals, Plotkins's wide breath of work includes her Rockefeller-nominated  film, Red Rain, which highlights the struggles of a female boxing champion. Red Rain has aired on PBS as well as many international broadcasts and has shown in over 100 film festivals worldwide.  Laura's haunting film, 21, chronicling a violent, post-9/11 racist attack, premiered at the Tribecca Film Festival and aired on HBO for a special anniversary broadcast.   Laura was instrumental in the development and production of the award-winning documentary The Gulabi Gang, which follows a women's group in India fighting for equality and civil rights.  She has also worked as a producer/DP on many music biographies including the acclaimed Punk Attitude directed by Don Letts (IFC Films), Marianne Faithful: Dreaming My Dreams and Marvin Gaye: The Legacy (Eagle Rock Entertainment).

Laura has worked as a consulting producer for many documentaries both domestically and internationally including varied topics such as:  the rise of racism in eastern Europe, child prostitution in India and a hybrid/cross platformed educational series for children.  She is the co-writer of two narrative screenplays: Derby Queen, an adaptation of the documentary film Demon of the Derby featuring 1950s professional female roller derby stars (FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards) and Finding Freespace, a comedy exploring the world of a raw-vegan guru. Laura holds her MFA in cinema and film production and has taught documentary filmmaking at several universities including San Francisco State and CAL Berkeley.  She lives in the Bay Area with her husband who is a musician and their dog Bell.