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Lauren Lazin

Lauren Lazin is an award-winning filmmaker who has directed, produced, written and edited more than 40 documentaries for MTV and PBS. Her first feature film, Tupac: Resurrection, premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. She made her directorial debut in 1985 with The Flapper Story, which premiered at the Museum of Modern Art's New Directors/New Films series and won a Student Academy Award. Recently, her film Journey of Dr. Dre was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

In 1990, Lazin was the creative force behind MTV's longest-running documentary series, Sex in the 90's, which has now become a cult favorite among young audiences. In 1992, she formed the MTV News and Specials department where she directed, produced and executive- produced the documentary series MTV Rockumentary, which included bio-pics on The Who, Robbie Robertson, The B-52's, Janet Jackson and many others. She also was responsible for the health series Mega-dose, the indie film series alt.film@mtv, as well as award-winning MTV News specials on topics ranging from drug abuse and racism to religious intolerance and sexual health.

Today, Lazin executive-produces the popular music series MTV Ultra Sound, Cribs, Diary, the Emmy-nominated Uncensored, as well as True Life, a critically acclaimed documentary series about social issues affecting young people. She also oversees MTV's pro-social documentaries, and in 1999, the network's anti-violence campaign Fight for Your Rights was awarded an Emmy.

Outside of MTV, Lazin has directed films for the National Organization for Women (NOW), pieces for such artists as The Supremes and The Rolling Stones for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and an award-winning documentary, Seven Deadly Sins, which was featured on PBS' experimental television series Alive From Off Center.Lazin's films have won Ace Awards, Monitor Awards and Cine Golden Eagles, with honors for Best Directing and Best Editing. The National Association of Minorities in Communications, the NAACP, GLADD and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency have also honored her work. In addition, she received the Ryan White Youth Service Award and the Ribbon of Hope Award for her outstanding contributions to the fight against Teen HIV/AIDS, and in 1995, Fight Back, her film about child sexual abuse, was featured in a special screening for Congress.

Graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Smith College in 1982, Lazin received a master's degree in documentary film production from Stanford University in 1985. In 1996, the Women's College Coalition named her as a Role Model of the Year and featured her in its national Ad Council campaign promoting women's education.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Lauren Lazin Facts

OccupationDirector, Producer

Selected Filmography

L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin
I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust
Tupac: Resurrection
Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police
Last Days Of Left Eye
The Flapper Story
Tupac
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