Anu Valia is an American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, 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 is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Short Film Jury Award.

Early life and education

Anu Valia was born to a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a 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 ''Si ...

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 and Center townships, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,646 at the 2020 census It is a suburb of Chicago, located 30 miles south of the city. History Long before Indian ...

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

Career

From 2011 to 2013, Valia served as a producer at

CollegeHumor Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...

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

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

. 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 versi ...

'', ''

Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') is an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that aired on ABC from September 24, 2019, to May 18, 2021. The series is a prequel to '' Black-ish'', and the s ...

'', '' Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'', '' Love Life'', ''

A.P. Bio ''A.P. Bio'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on February 1, 2018, on NBC as a mid-season replacement. It aired on NBC for two seasons until June 13, 2019, and moved to Peacock streaming, Peacock for its subsequent seasons. The se ...

'', '' And Just Like That...'', '' The Big Door Prize'' and '' The Afterparty''. Additionally, Valia served as a story producer for the television adaptation of ''

My Brother, My Brother and Me ''My Brother, My Brother and Me'' (often abbreviated as ''MBMBaM'', pronounced ) is a weekly comedy advice podcast distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy. Regular episodes of the pod ...

''. 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, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

announced that Valia will be directing episodes of the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

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 List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

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