From Teaching to Documentarian

During the Black Lives Matter early protests, middle school teacher Laurie Townshend was inspired to grab a DSLR camera to take photos of those on the frontlines: Black mothers and their children. Townshend saw that there was a story to be told, so she captured the moments, which meant conducting impromptu interviews with protestors.

That urge to capture more stories with her camera never left her. In fact, Townshend spent six and a half years filming her first documentary, A Mother Apart. The documentary will be screening at the Milwaukee Film Festival on May 2, 4, and 8, 2025.

A Mother Apart follows spoken-word poet, performing artist, and LGBTQ+ rights political activist Staceyann Chin as she’s on a constant “hunt” to find and reconnect with her mother. As Chin is trying to build a relationship with her mother over the years, she is also raising her daughter, Zuri. This documentary explores Chin’s struggle with the trauma of her mother’s abandonment while trying not to pass those emotions onto her own daughter.

Townshend knew a lot about Chin and her work and decided to approach her about filming her story. Townshend didn’t have experience in shooting documentaries, but she trusted her instincts.

“I think the film expands what motherhood is and can be,” said Townshend.

The Process

A Mother Apart was filmed in multiple places, including Jamaica, where Chin was born, Brooklyn, where she lived before moving back to Jamaica for a short time, along with Germany, where her mother resides.

While working on the documentary, Townshend was deciding if she wanted to have kids herself one day. Then, around 2022, Townshend became her mother’s caregiver. As she watched Chin’s mother, Zuri, Townshend learned that she needed to take that same energy Chin had and use that to care for herself and her mother in that way.

Before her mother’s passing in 2023, Townshend stepped away from being a full-time teacher of 22 years to fully focus on the documentary, which brought her more freedom to spend time with her mother.

“The film was a gift,” said Townshend.

Chin has an extensive archive that was utilized throughout the film. Townshend had index cards laid out on the floor, and that’s when she saw the “through line” that connected the dots on how she wanted to tell this story.

Townshend appreciates how Chin let her into her life with no hesitation.

“[Staceyann Chin] was so vulnerable and so open,” said Townshend.

A Mother Apart shows the complexities of motherhood and how Chin’s journey to healing is ongoing.

“We’re all wounded people really just trying to heal through relationships,” said Townshend.