Anu Valia is an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

, writer, actress, and producer best known for writing and directing the short film ''Lucia, Before and After'', which won the 2017

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

Short Film Jury Award.

Early life and education

Anu Valia was born to a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

family in Indiana and grew up in the Greater Chicago area, specifically in the town of

Schererville, Indiana Schererville is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,646 at the 2020 census It is a suburb of Chicago located just 30 miles south of the city History Long before Indiana became a state ...

. Valia studied dance from age 5, and in high school organized a charity dance performance to support people with HIV/AIDS. After graduating from

Morgan Park Academy Morgan Park Academy (MPA) is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade . It is located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1873, Morg ...

in 2006, Valia went to school New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Career

From 2011 to 2013, Valia served as a producer at

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

, appearing as herself in several videos and earning a nomination for a

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

. Valia wrote and directed the short film ''Lucia, Before and After'', about a young woman waiting to have an abortion in Texas. The film won the 2017

Short Film Jury Award. In 2018, Valia joined the Los Angeles production company Majority, which works to create opportunities for female directors. She has directed episodes of shows including ''

Never Have I Ever "Never have I ever", also known as "I've never..." or "ten fingers", is a drinking game in which players take turns asking other players about things they have not done. Other players who have done this thing respond by taking a drink. A ver ...

'', ''

Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to b ...

'', ''

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens ''Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'' (or simply ''Nora from Queens'') is an American comedy television series starring Awkwafina that first aired on January 20, 2020, on Comedy Central. The series was renewed for a second season before the series pr ...

'', ''

Love Life Love Life or Lovelife may refer to: Organizations * loveLife South Africa, a youth focused HIV prevention initiative in South Africa *Love Life, a campaign started by Blackie Chen and Christine Fan to benefit children suffering from cancer Fi ...

'', '' A.P. Bio'' and '' And Just Like That...'' Additionally, Valia served as a story producer for the television adaptation of '' My Brother, My Brother and Me''. In July 2020, Valia, who is of Indian descent, was announced as a mentor in the inaugural year of a mentorship program connecting aspiring talent of South Asian descent in the television and film industry with actors, writers, and leaders who could mentor them in Hollywood. In December 2020,

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

announced that Valia will be directing episodes of the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

streaming series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

for a 2022 release.

References

External links

* * * (personal website) American film directors of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{US-film-director-stub