Director of photography Laela Kilbourn has accomplished narrative and documentary works that present intimate portraits of character and compelling stories of transformation; her over thirty years in filmmaking inform her use of verité and studio techniques to build cinematic experiences of discovery and connection. An Emmy winner for Outstanding Cinematography for her work on GIRLS STATE, she also won a Best Feature Cinematography festival award for SWIM TEAM, and has filmed eight Sundance Film Festival documentary feature premieres, such as the DuPont-Columbia Journalism Award winner THIS IS HOME: A REFUGEE STORY; Peabody Award winning HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO; and Emmy nominated WORD WARS. She also shot SYNC OR SWIM, winner of the Billie Award for Journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation, and filmed History’s eleven part docuseries SANDHOGS. Her noted narrative work includes the black comedy CRABS IN A BARREL, featured on HBOmax; THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF QUEENS, awarded Best Narrative Short Film at Katra Latinx Festival; SOMEONE LOVES YOU, Best Short Film winner at ESSENCE Film Festival ; and the feature DEATH OF A FOOL, available on Amazon Prime Video. She has worked on projects for FX, NBC, PBS, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Epix, Amazon Studios, AMC, A&E, TBS, Nick Jr., NickMom, ESPN, Disney, History, MTV, VH1, and WeTV. A member of the International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Women in Film & Television, and the International Collective of Female+ Cinematographers, she has served as a juror for the Emmys, the Cinema Eye Honors, and the Brooklyn International Film Festival, as a panelist on cinematography at the Canon Creative Studio and DOC NYC PRO, and as a guest speaker at The New School. She has a degree in social anthropology from Harvard University.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Cinematographer
- 15 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are Laela Kilbourn's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 10
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
Grounded 9 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 8 · Intense 0
Steady 7 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 2
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet7
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Laela Kilbourn's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Laela Kilbourn's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
27 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.
Off the Face of the Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Sabbath Queen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Girls State(2024)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Bloodlines of the Slave Trade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Tipping the Pain Scale(2021)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Crabs in a Barrel(2022)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Strip Down, Rise Up(2021)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Death of a Fool (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
This Is Home(2018)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Swim Team(2016)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
How to Dance in Ohio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
My Brooklyn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Magic Camp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
DMT: The Spirit Molecule (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Beware the Gonzo(2010)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
American Teen(2008)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
June Weddings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Word Wars(2004)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Wag the Dog(1997)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Kiss & Tell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Girls Town(1996)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Reindeer Games (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Joe & Joe(1995)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Afterlife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 25 titles, 24 of them dated from 1996 to 2024.
Biggest box office
American Teen (2008)
Highest rated
Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web (2017)
Most popular right now
Girls State (2024)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
Won a Primetime Emmy in 2024, Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Laela Kilbourn's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic3
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the cinematography 59/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 64, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Laela Kilbourn work with?
People who share at least 2 of Laela Kilbourn's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Martina Radwan shares the most, 2.
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Martina RadwanShared titles: Girls State (2024), Strip Down, Rise Up (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Martina Radwan
- T. GriffinShared titles: Girls State (2024), This Is Home (2018)See all 2 shared titles with T. Griffin
- Jeff ReillyShared titles: Tipping the Pain Scale (2021), Trial by Fire: Lives Re-Forged (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Jeff Reilly