Meet Anu Valia
“It’s so important for a set to be functioning with a sense of respect and gratitude so everyone can do their best work” ~Anu Valia
Writer-director, Anu Valia has dazzled audiences with short films like her notorious Sundance Film Festival submission, Lucia, Before and After (2017), a film focusing on the stark reality of womanhood and abortion rights in Texas. In recent works, she’s broadened her reach into the realm of comedy introducing a unique introspection into various facets of free-spirited woman archetypes and empowerment roles for BIPOC women on screen!
At the end of 2020, it was announced that Valia would be set to direct a slate of episodes of Disney +’s new SheHulk TV series! Valia has a proven track record of revitalizing feminine characters with a stimulating grasp of humor; humor that also encapsulates pieces of Indian culture. Valia commends her set with compassion and poise, seeking to uphold the comfort of both cast and crew.
With a team-first mentality, Anu Valia operates with humanity in mind, incorporating these complexities into the narrative of the film or series she writes or directs.
Additionally, Valia has arisen as an Indian celebrity that cares deeply about uplifting her community and that includes positioning BIPOC characters into a newly diversified cinematic cannon. Having worked on TV shows like ABC’s Mixed-ish (2019-Present) or Netflix’s Never Have I Ever (2020-Present), Valia continues to garner a humor-driven audience, still delivering punchy jokes that reflect different pop/social cultures.
Keeping a sense of community in perspective, Anu Valia has extended her hand in bringing promising POC faces and minds into the industry!
In a joint partnership initiative aiming to increase POC visibility of South Asian creatives, Twentieth Television VP of Programming, Reena Singh, and President of Development and Production at Hillman Grad Productions, Rishi Rajani, have recently launched a program with Valia as an onboard mentor! The Salon program is in its third year with a pretty distinctive line-up of South Asian writers, producers, and directors set to be mentors to new generations of entertainment talent.
Programs as such are dynamic tools to allow POC writers, artists, directors, etc to hone in on their craft with certified mentors that look like them and who can understand and internalize the heart of their works at a more receptive level!
It’s exciting to have a community of POC actively making their presence known in the Hollywood mainstream and Valia is one of a growing collective of audacious and innovative South Asian POC shining on the path to cinematic greatness.
Keep your ears open for more buzz around Valia’s latest updates on the new SheHulk series. And if you dig Anu Valia’s repertoire, head to her site here!
