Lauren L. Owen

Lauren L. Owen is an independent producer, writer, director, actor, and the first Black or African American graduate of NYU's highly selective MBA/MFA dual master's degree program. She previously held the position of Vice President of Development and Special Projects at 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where she sourced materials and discovered stories to adapt into film and television projects for director/producer Spike Lee. She worked on Mr. Lee's acclaimed "BlacKkKlansman," and she is an Associate Producer for the Netflix Original Film, "See You Yesterday."While pursuing her two master's degrees, Lauren wrote and directed six short films, a commercial, and produced many other projects, including the Academy Award-nominated "My Nephew Emmett." Additionally, Lauren co-produced a feature film, "Blood Surf," that was executive produced by James Franco. She is also the producer of the feature film "Paper Friends," starring Robinne Lee, Dorian Missick, and Sharon Leal, which premiered on the BET Her channel. She co-produced a psychological thriller entitled "Ghostwritten," now streaming on Amazon Prime, which stars Jay Duplass and Maria Dizzia, and she is developing a biographical narrative feature with Grammy Award-winning, Oscar- nominated, Raphael Saadiq as Executive Producer.Lauren created a short film entitled "Trapped," for which she was the writer, director, producer, and the only actor, playing opposite herself. She also won the Best Comedy Short Screenplay Award at the Houston Comedy Film Festival in 2024 for her mockumentary script "Changing Spots," which was inspired by time she spent caring for her father.Lauren continues to build a slate of shows, feature films, and shorts that she is writing, directing, and/or producing. Her work is geared toward promoting diversity both on the screen and behind the scenes. Lastly, Lauren loves performing with her UCB improv team, and she has a healthy addiction to tacos.