Laura Lau (; born March 31, 1963) is an American writer, director, and producer, perhaps best known as the writer of the films '' Open Water'' (2005) and '' Silent House'' (2011), the latter of which she co-directed with Chris Kentis.

Biography

On March 31, 1963, Lau was born as Laura J. Lau in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, U.S. Lau's parents are

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

. Lau studied writing at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

. Lau's first feature, ''

Grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back ( ...

'' (1997), was written by her and directed by Chris Kentis. She would co-produce and shoot '' Open Water'' in 2003, on a budget of $120,000; the film would go on to gross $58.7 million worldwide. Her third feature, '' Silent House'' (2011), was co-directed, written, and produced by Lau, along with Kentis. Lal has been married to Kentis, her film collaborator, since 1997, and they reside in New York City. They have one daughter.

Filmography

*''

'' (1997) – writer, producer *'' Open Water'' (2003) – producer, cinematographer *'' Silent House'' (2011) – writer, producer, director

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people American film directors of Chinese descent American writers of Chinese descent Barnard College alumni Writers from San Francisco Film directors from San Francisco American screenwriters {{US-film-director-1960s-stub