1850

Co-created with Rachel Watanabe-Batton, 1850 was a selection for IFP No Borders International Co-Production Market, 2019.

In 1850 New Orleans, interracial families hide in plain sight and immigrant struggles to survive.

Stealing in through the ballrooms, bedrooms and courtrooms of antebellum New Orleans, 1850 is a 60-minute serial drama about soul-crushing lies around the color line, the line that exists between peoples in the history of America and the Americas, and the line of definition, the question of how race defines us. 

1850 is about the clash, blending, cruelties, fears and exaltations of multi-cultural society, both in the literal form of bloodlines and interracial families and just as importantly, in the form of American culture and society. We portray the taboo and very real intersection of sexuality, race and class.  Why now? Because we are again grappling with the question of whether we will be a multi-cultural democracy or implode: the choice between love and hate. Also, a yellow fever epidemic rips through the city while powerholders deny it, another current and past test of human compassion.

Please see below a statement on the stage of the projects.

Ft. Wick

A multi-cultural group of alcoholics grapples with the fallout from their self-destructive behavior.

Welcome to Ft. Wick, Brooklyn, a community that drinks too much.  It has been said that New York is full of little villages, and Ft. Wick, Brooklyn, is one of them. Native born or transplant, they came of age in New York with dreams. These are people who came up with promise: child tv star, college athlete, summa cum laude. But then, what happened to these party people? They’ve given up, never loved again, watched their dreams recede. They’re embittered, embarrassed and drowning their sorrows. A tight-knit group of friends, what they do have is each other…kind of.

Unnamed

Written with Nicole Ponseca, restaurateur, author, James Beard Finalist.

A group of Filipino-American creatives vibe, thrive, and struggle in a New York City restaurant.

Statement from Lara:

I have fallen in love with episodic viewing as the writing has become stronger and stronger since the New Millennium. What a fun, luscious, wicked, brutal, joyous art form! I began working on 1850 years back, and got a little traction with two producers and two established directors. I am now taking a break from the project to write a novel, so we have parted ways. My producer partners and I separated on very good terms; I hope they come back on later, and they have also said the same. Where are the projects? Contact for details!