tisch school of the arts – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SPOTLIGHT September 2025: Anu Valia, Filmmaker, WE STRANGERS

August 31, 2025September 1, 2025 Leslie Combemale Anu Valia, CollegeHumor, immigrant parents, Kirby Howell-Batiste, leslie combemale, New York Film Academy, NYU, reframe, ReFrame Rise, sundance institute, tisch school of the arts, We Strangers, women in film

A recent Movie of the Week for AWFJ, We Strangers, bowled over the entire MOTW team. Though it is writer/director Anu Valia’s feature film debut, it shows a remarkable agility with storytelling and a clear commitment and trust with her collaborators both above and below the line. Valia is no stranger to creating art onscreen, having helmed and penned the Sundance Film Festival darling Lucia, Before and After, which won the Short Film July Award at the fest in 2017. She’s also been directing for the small screen for years. Shortly before the release of We Strangers, it was announced she was selected as one of the filmmakers in the WIF (formerly Women in Film) and ReFrame’s new class of ReFrame Rise for 2025 and 2026.

Reviews

OLYMPIA – Review by April Neale

July 8, 2020July 9, 2020 April Neale 0 Comments documentaries, Harry Mavromichalis, louis zorich, olympia dukakis, tisch school of the arts

This bittersweet glimpse of her remarkable life allows Olympia Dukakis the freedom to flex the very muscles that catapulted her to fame. With no compunction, she openly discusses her obstacles, triumphs and regrets, and dishes about her collective career and personal experiences. She’s an octogenarian, and she’s still going strong.

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT November 2017: Dee Rees, Independently Epic Filmmaker, Director MUDBOUND

October 31, 2017October 1, 2018 Nora Lee Mandel (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments dee rees, Movie of the Week, mudbound, pariah, queen latifah, spotlight, tisch school of the arts, women directors

With just three narrative features to her credit, director Dee Rees has made an assured and unique mark on American cinema, bringing talent, skill and creative vision to her work. Releasing this month, Mudbound presents Rees’ intimately emotional style of filmmaking on an epic scale.