About
Laura Baker Ménard is a Franco American screenwriter and director. Her work is imbued with a poetic and existential sensibility. Drawing inspiration from the films of Terrence Malick and Michelangelo Antonioni, she develops emotionally driven narratives that explore the human condition. With a background in philosophy and subsequent education in photography, she approaches filmmaking with a strong belief in the political and spiritual power of images and symbols to reflect on our presence in the world.
WORK
Screenwriting
NADIR 2026
an epic family drama centered on the coming-of-age of a biracial teenager, inspired by the life and work of French poet Arthur Rimbaud, written in collaboration with Philippe Guérinot
SOCCER GIRLS 2022
a comedy TV series about a non-professional female soccer team and its players' challenges as growing young women (10x26min), written in collaboration with Julie Pintos
HIM 2019
a medium-length film about a summertime friendship between two boys seeking for a mysterious man in the streets of Paris, written in collaboration with Bertrand Duma
THE SUBSTITUTE 2019
a short film about the ambiguous relationship between a French literature teacher and a student slam poet, written in collaboration with Sophie Pairault
Directing
YES FUTURE 2020
a documentary project about the future and meaning of work in our lives, directed during a filmmaking workshop, at the French Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers
FAÏZA GUÈNE 2019
a video presentation of the French Algerian writer and her reflections on identity and community in postcolonial France, commissioned by the European research project 'Memoirs'
OUVRIER.E.S AU MUSÉE 2019
the official teaser of the exhibition "Factory Workers - Men and Women" commissioned by the Musée de l'Histoire Vivante in Montreuil, France
SMILE! 2017
a docudrama short film about a young woman striving to become an actress, written, directed and edited by Laura Baker Ménard
Podcasts
POSSESSED 2021
a talk on our relationship with objects in our daily lives, created in collaboration with Fernanda Vilar for the Deezer Podcast Contest
MEHDI CHAREF 2019
a conversation with the Algerian novelist and director on the role of school in cultural integration, commissioned by the European research project 'Memoirs'
Photography
LIVE AND PRAY 2014
a series of black and white portraits of the Mennonite community of Colonia Verde, Paraguay
BLACK LIT 2013
a documentary photo project about Afro-Caribbean youths and their future prospects in Isla Grande, Panama
EL INFIERNO 2012
a dystopian account of the relationship between man and nature on a working site in rural Paraguay
Theater
THE ENGLISH LOVER 2010
a play about the investigation of a true crime committed by an enigmatic French housewife, written by Marguerite Duras, staged by Laura Baker Ménard