Lief signs Laura Checkoway for representation

Director Laura Checkoway has signed to London-based production company Lief for global commercial representation.

With a background in journalism, and raised on poetry and hip-hop, Checkoway's attention to detail and interest in psychology saw her create insightful portraits of the era’s most beloved superstars: Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Solange, among many more. Extending beyond the cover stories, she co-authored the acclaimed book My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy which looked deep into hip-hop’s Golden Era.

In 2018, Checkoway’s short film Edith + Eddie, about America's oldest interracial newlyweds, aged 96 and 95, whose happiness is disrupted by a family feud, was nominated for an Academy Award as well as an Emmy, and won numerous awards including the IDA Documentary Awards Best Short. 

Her exceptional writing led to segueing her storytelling into a cinematic experience with her debut feature film Lucky, an intimate story of survival that follows Lucky Torres, a homeless mother masked in tattoos, who longs to rise from a life of darkness. Lucky screened across the globe and premiered on television in 2014. The quality and integrity of Laura’s work attracted documentary luminaries, including Albert Maysles, Steve James and Agnes Varda, who became mentors.

Her most recent feature doc, The Cave of Adullam, premiered at Tribeca in 2022 winning Best Documentary Feature, Best Editing in a Documentary and the 1st Place Audience Award. In an interview with Deadline, Executive Producer Laurence Fishburne said: “She has a cinematic sensitivity and a doctor’s bedside manner... Laura doesn’t impose her personality or her energy onto anything. It boils down to her humanity and her ability to see the humanity in all.”

“I always go in great depth and have a profound curiosity and interest in what makes us who we are,” Checkoway comments. “This has led to my writing and indie filmmaking being the best training in the art of getting close to just about anyone.”

“I first knew of Laura through her Oscar nomination for Edith + Eddie, which floored me," said Margo Mars, Founder of Lief. "I was deeply impressed by the immense sensitivity and honest storytelling. Laura is known for her incredible ability to find the heart of the story in all of the subjects she shoots, which will provide clients with a fantastic opportunity to tap into, to create lasting impact. We’re honoured to welcome her to advertising.”

Checkoway has already been noticed by some of the world’s biggest brands with work for Unilever, Amazon and, most recently, the Lief- and Uncommon Creative Studios-produced original documentary series We Were Here for YouTube and the UNHCR, where Laura served as the series director alongside Executive Producer Alma Har’el, and directed the episode The Musicians, about displaced Ukrainian-Ethiopian sisters who form hip- hop trio Fo Sho.