Meet Laurel Tamayo | Film Director & Impact Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laurel Tamayo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I kind of stumbled into filmmaking. My first real job was my junior year of high school as a student producer at Punahou School. I got it because a friend of mine was changing schools and told me they were hiring to fill his spot, so I interviewed and got it. I was a shy kid, but suddenly I was pushed into a job where I was in charge of creating videos about happenings around school. I brainstormed topics, wrote questions, interviewed subjects, and edited the videos. I loved that it pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I loved how much creative control I had. My senior year, I saw a documentary called Racing Extinction, that showed the connection between humans and species extinction. It changed my perspective and made me passionate about environmental issues. Since this one film had such a big impact on me, I knew I wanted to have a job where I could be making an impact through film or TV. I think using creative mediums like film are a great way to share a complex message such as climate change.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It’s funny because when I was in college and I would say I was studying environmental science and documentary film, some people would tell me that that was a weird combination. But I’m in a job that is a perfect blend of sustainability and film, so I’m so glad that I did study those things. No one in my family has a creative job, so growing up I didn’t think working in film was even a possibility until high school. When I knew I wanted to working sustainability and film, I started cold messaging people on LinkedIn that had my dream jobs. Fortunately, most people answered and took the time to give me advice, and now some of them have become mentors and friends who have cheered me on to do things I never thought was possible.

Outside of my full time job, I’m the director of a documentary called Healing Lahaina, which is about the loss of my family’s multigenerational home in the Lahaina wildfire, the deadliest wildfire in modern US history. Through the personal recounts of three generations of Tamayos, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of survival, climate change and colonization, and how a community finds strength and resilience through healing. It is having its world premiere at the Hawai’i International Film Festival, where it will be playing on O’ahu, Maui, Big Island, and Lana’i!

Aside from making this film being emotionally challenging, we had the normal challenges of figuring out how to fund this and how to get it out into the world. Thankfully, so many colleagues in the climate change and film & TV space showed their support by donating to our crowdfunding campaign, sharing our posts, or getting on calls with my crew to give advice. We were also selected for the Pink with Purpose Project Award, which was $25,000 and a year-long mentorship program. SO many people outside of my film crew had a hand in making this film possible. My crew is also so passionate about this project and making a positive impact on the Lahaina community and beyond.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love LA because there are SO many things you can do. If they wanted to do something outdoors, I would take them to the Hollywood sign hike, a picnic at Griffith Park, or to The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. If they wanted to walk around, I would take them to Silver Lake, The Grove, or Little Tokyo. For food, I would take them to Chaumont Vegan for breakfast, Gokoku Vegetarian Ramen Shop for lunch, and Gracias Madre for dinner!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m currently finishing up my first documentary (Healing Lahaina) as a director, and so I want to shout out my family. My documentary is about my dad’s side of the family who are survivors of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire. I want to thank them for being willing to be vulnerable and allow me to share their stories. I want to thank my mom’s side of the family for supporting me in this filmmaking endeavor, especially my Popo, Betty Ing, who has been a big champion of the film from the beginning, and helped me prepare for shooting every day on Maui. And thank you to my parents and brother for watching our rough cuts and giving feedback.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurelt13/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurel-tamayo/