Laura Albritton ’93

When Laura Albritton ’93 moved from Miami to the rural town of Thomasville, Ga., she was — quite literally — out of her environment.

“I was totally unfamiliar with the eco-systems here,” she says. “I was a coastal person for most of my life, and then I became landlocked.”

That lack of knowledge, however, became the jumping-off point for Albritton’s newest venture into documentary filmmaking. As she discovered more about the biodiversity around her — she learned her new home belonged to an ancient longleaf pine ecosystem — inviting audiences along for the journey seemed like a natural fit. She and her partner co-founded Magic Kumquat Productions in 2020, focusing on the nature and history of the Southeast.

Albritton was introduced to filmmaking at the College. Before attending graduate school at the University of Miami, she worked for Emmy-winning documentarian Charles Hobson at his production company, Vanguard Documentaries. She has been a writer for much her career, however, with articles, books and even an award-winning PBS film in her portfolio. But stepping more fully into the documentary world has provided new opportunities to tell stories with image and sound, which she says is “absolutely mesmerizing.” Getting to spend her days outside, asking questions of conservationists and scientists, is one of her favorite parts of the job.

“I dove into this world of longleaf pines and gopher tortoises and prescribed burns,” Albritton says. “I really did arrive at this as a novice with a wide-eyed curiosity, and I’m not afraid to ask simple, perhaps even stupid, questions.”

Her production company has made four films, with several more in post-production. One of these, Longleaf Forever, explores the biodiversity and importance of long-leaf ecosystems; it won Best North America Short at the 2024 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival. These festivals, Albritton says, are where her nature films find passionate, environmentally minded viewers. She also typically works with organizations who will use her documentaries in outreach efforts. “It’s an honor to meet many of these folks,” she says. “These are not people who are in it to make gobs of money. They’re in it because they care.”

— Emily Driehaus