Laura Checkoway

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Laura Checkoway
Occupation(s)Director, producer, editor, screenwriter and journalist
Website www.lauracheckoway.com

Laura Checkoway is a documentary filmmaker and writer, known for her documentary Edith+Eddie for which she received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject nomination at the 90th Academy Awards. [1] The film also received an Emmy nomination [2] and won numerous awards including the IDA Documentary Awards Best Short. [3] In The New Yorker, critic Richard Brody wrote: “One of the most impressive aspects of Checkoway’s film is that, with a simple and straightforward approach, she brings the overwhelming force of abstract institutions seemingly onto the screen.” [4] Academy Award winning filmmaker Julia Reichert called Edith+Eddie "One of the most beautiful and quietly furious films I've ever seen." Checkoway's documentary The Cave of Adullam [5] is executive produced by Laurence Fishburne and premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2022, winning top prizes Best Documentary Feature, Best Editing, and the Audience Award. [6] In an interview with Deadline, Fishburne said: “She has a cinematic sensitivity and a doctor’s bedside manner... Laura doesn’t impose her personality or her energy onto anything. It boils down to her humanity and her ability to see the humanity in all…” [7] The film was released by ESPN Films. She received NYWIFT’s Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking Award [8] in 2022.

Contents

With a background in journalism, Checkoway was a writer for numerous publications including Vibe and Rolling Stone.

Checkoway wrote the 05 February 2008 Village Voice cover story entitled "Prodigy's 25th Hour." [9] In 2011, Simon & Schuster published My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, a memoir co-authored by Checkoway and Prodigy. This work has been described in the Ringer as being "one of the best music autobiographies ever." [10]

Filmography

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References

  1. "Oscars 2018: The list of nominees in full". BBC News. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. "Abacus, Edith+Eddie earn Emmy® nominations". Kartemquin Films. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. "Edith+Eddie wins Best Short at 2017 IDA Awards". Kartemquin Films. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. "Two Standouts Among the 2018 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts". The New Yorker. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  5. Complex, Valerie (31 May 2022). "Actor Laurence Fishburne Documentary About Jason Wilson 'The Cave Of Adullam' To Have World Premiere At Tribeca; Directed By Laura Checkoway". Deadline. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  6. Lewis, Hilary (16 June 2022). "Tribeca Festival: 'Good Girl Jane,' 'The Cave of Adullam' Among Top Competition Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. Complex, Valerie (13 June 2022). "'The Cave Of Adullam's Laurence Fishburne & Jason Wilson Discuss The Story Of How They Connected To Create The Documentary: Q&A". Deadline. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  8. "NYWIFT Presents 10 Scholarships and 14 Festival Awards throughout 2022". New York Women in Film & Television. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. "Prodigy's 25th Hour". The Village Voice. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. Kwak, Donnie (23 June 2017). "How Prodigy Told His Life Story". The Ringer. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. Ford, Rebecca (23 February 2018). "Cher on 'Edith+Eddie': "They Were Not Treated Like People"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. "LUCKY - Cinema Guild Non-Theatrical". store.cinemaguild.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.