As an artist & animator who makes documentary films, my stories are influenced by my visual art practice in drawing the essence of nature. My urgency in tackling our global crisis of species extinction in the Extinction Capital of the World takes on a much stronger metaphor now; we must defend the most vulnerable, marginalized as a matter of our own survival. Hawai’i is the place where I grew up, my roots, my family, part of my identity; I feel a responsibility defend our disappearing flora & fauna because I didn’t know about them growing up here and their connection to what makes Hawaii so special. My work envisions future possibilities, expressing love to protect ‘aina (land), raise awareness for its beauty, and celebrate humanity’s sacred connection within Nature.
– Laurie
photo by Sunawen Andrews
LAURIE SUMIYE
Director, Writer, Producer, Principal Animator
@LaurieSumiye
BIO:
Laurie is a Japanese-American artist, animator and filmmaker from Mililani, Hawaiʻi. She was selected for film fellowships with Firelight Media, Sundance Institute, Women in Film, Jackson Wild, and UnionDocs. Her short documentaries, STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE, about endangered Hawaiian birds, and OF MEMORY & LOS SURES, a vanishing Latino neighborhood in Brooklyn, presented at DOCNYC, BAMcinemaFest, and DOCUTAH. The latter was part of an acclaimed transmedia documentary, LIVING LOS SURES, which premiered at NYFF and exhibited at PS1MoMA. She started in documentaries creating graphics and animation for PROJECT KASHMIR and MY BROOKLYN. A PARADISE LOST is Laurie’s first feature, receiving support from Pacific Islanders in Communications, Firelight Media, Doc Society and Blue Mountain Center (a 2021 Harriet Barlow Commons Award recipient). She has an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from CUNY Hunter College and a BA in Art and BS in Communications from Bradley University, and studied art at Istituto Lorenzo de Medici in Italy. She has exhibited art internationally in galleries, art fairs and museums, and been commissioned for business, nonprofit and private collections. She previously taught filmmaking as an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu, and is a member of IDA, BGDM, A-Doc, Women in Film and Film Independent.
ART WEBSITE: https://www.lauriesumiye.com/