LAURA'S
HOLLAND
A new film by MONICA COHEN
At the height of her career, a Spanish flamenco dancer living in America faces the unimaginable, and as her world collapses, she turns to her art to survive.
TRAILER
ABOUT
Life doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes, without warning, everything changes and we land in a metaphorical “Holland”.
This documentary follows the journey of Laura, a Spanish flamenco dancer, multidisciplinary artist, mother, and activist living in the United States, whose life takes an unexpected turn when her second child suffers a brain injury at birth, sending her into her own personal “Holland.”
What begins as a story about motherhood evolves into a profound exploration of trauma, disability, identity, and resilience.
Blending raw verité moments from Laura’s real life with the artistic work they inspire, the film reflects on how we survive when the life we imagined disappears — and how meaning, joy, and purpose can still be found in realities we never chose. It challenges idealized narratives of motherhood and family, amplifying voices often silenced, and honoring both the pain and the beauty of caregiving. Ultimately, the film explores art as a powerful tool for healing.
This film is not only a portrait of one woman’s experience, but a call to action. It invites us to redefine normalcy, to embrace life’s unexpected detours, and to imagine a society that truly includes and supports everyone. Through Laura’s journey, we glimpse the possibility of a new way forward — one shaped by resilience, creativity, and radical empathy. A way of learning how to live again, love deeply, and create hope, even in the most unexpected places.
DIRECTOR
STATEMENT
MONICA COHEN
Director/Producer
Ten years ago, I became a mother to my daughter Simona. My husband and I were artists living in New York, unprepared for how profoundly parenthood would reshape everything. Suddenly, we were no longer the center of our own stories—our bodies, time, and choices belonged to someone else now.
We moved to Boston soon after Simona was born, when my husband found stability teaching at Berklee College of Music. But that stability fractured us in unexpected ways. Our shared production company split along gender lines we never imagined we'd accept. He had a career. I had freelance work and motherhood. As an immigrant diving deep into both, the isolation became unbearable.
Seven years later, shortly after my son Antonio was born, I was paddling against all odds professionally—searching for stories that would make mothers like us visible. That's when I met Laura. She hired me to film one of her first multidisciplinary performances, AFTER DARK. When I arrived, I couldn't wait for the show to start—I pulled my camera out immediately. Laura was breastfeeding her four-month-old daughter Sol while directing the lighting technician, the dancer, the guitar player.
Watching Laura create art in the middle of the hardest moment of her life—Sol had suffered a severe brain injury at birth—I saw a version of motherhood I desperately needed to believe in. A woman who refused to disappear, who gathered other women to heal together, who kept creating against impossible odds. Laura trusted me because she knew I understood. We were both mothers, caregivers, immigrants demanding better from systems that fail us.
LAURA'S HOLLAND became the story I needed to tell—not just Laura's story, but ours. A personal act of resistance, amplifying the struggles of countless caregivers and demanding a world where caregiving is valued. A film about the profound beauty and impossible contradictions of motherhood—the joy and the loss of self, held together in the same breath. Watching Laura piece together her new self became a path to meaning—for both of us.
LAURA'S ARTISTIC
STATEMENT
LAURA SANCHEZ
Creative Producer/Subject
As a full-time artist and mother of two—including a daughter with significant medical complexities—I navigate motherhood as an immigrant without extended family support. My creative practice is one of the few spaces I can claim as my own, and motherhood has transformed my identity from artist to art activist. Making space to create outside my caregiver duties is an act of empowerment—a way to make visible what so often feels invisible. I find inspiration in the mundane details of my life: a walk to the playground, a hospital stay, a micro-aggression, someone commenting that my daughter isn't "normal," a conversation with another caregiver. In the studio, I transform these real moments—both positive and negative—into movement, developing the work in sections and testing it with different audiences, allowing it to evolve organically.
Our film LAURA'S HOLLAND invites audiences into the private moments that fuel my artistic practice—the everyday realities they would never otherwise witness. My performances can only express what emerges from these experiences; the film reveals the lived moments themselves: the
hospital visits, therapy sessions, dance classes, school
pick-ups, and small joys that shape my work and my
family's life. By making visible what caregivers
experience behind closed doors, this film becomes
more than my personal story—it's a call to action
demanding that caregiving be valued,
supported, and seen, giving voice to
countless families navigating similar
journeys.
TEAM
Our team is a network of radical thinkers and creators, caregivers and hopeful souls that believe this world can be a better place if everyone is truly included.
MONICA COHEN
Co-Director/Producer
Colombian filmmaker whose documentaries center on art, culture, social transformation and human connection. Cohen founded The Boom House, a Boston-based video production company, specializing in content rooted in cinematic and documentary style storytelling.
She was a 2023 Brother Thomas Fellow, and has been a part of award- winning film projects that have been shown around the world and in festivals such as Sundance, CPH:DOX, and FICCI, among many others.
Cohen believes in the power of stories to build bridges and spark important conversations that could be the catalyst to a more equitable world.
LAURA SANCHEZ
Creative producer/Subject
Laura is a multidisciplinary artist, flamenco dancer, choreographer, author, and creator of the Tulip Skin universe — a trilogy of works that integrates the award-winning short film and immersive performance After Dark, the multidisciplinary performance Welcome to Holland!?, and the illustrated memoir Tulip Skin (2025).
Supported by institutions such as The Boston Foundation and published in the American Journal of Dance Therapy, Laura has developed Expressive Flamenco®, her signature artistic-therapeutic methodology that integrates movement, voice, and emotion into healing-centered storytelling.
KAREN KROLAK
Accessibility Consultant
Karen is the co-founder of Monkeyhouse, an award-winning nonprofit that connects communities through choreography. As a dancer living with a rare chronic illness, Karen is a passionate advocate for disability inclusion in the arts. She brings extensive experience in developing multi-sensory, accessible performance experiences.
RENATO MILONE
Music Composer
Renato Milone is a music producer, composer, engineer, drummer, and educator.
He started his career in Europe, performing with many renowned artists as a drummer. In 2000 he won a full scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music and got a B.M. in Composition for Film, Tv, and Video Games , an MA in Film Scoring and a Professional Achievement as Best producer 2009.
He has worked for artists such as Whitney Houston and wrote jingles for national and international television. He is currently a co-founder of THE BOOM HOUSE and an Associate Professor at the Contemporary Writing and Production Department of Berklee College of Music.
DONATE
You can help by making a tax-deductible donation today. All donations go through our non-profit fiscal sponsor, Center for Independent Documentary, and are 100% tax deductible.
If you prefer, you can make a check out to Center for Independent Documentary and write “Laura's Holland” in the memo section and mail to:
Center for Independent Documentary
PO Box 95216
Newton, MA 02495
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