Lia believes that stories give us a structure to help us understand our experiences, values, identity and place in history. She is drawn towards complex stories that challenge stereotypes and avoid simple conclusions.

Originally from Cambridge, MA, Lia graduated with honors from Harvard. As a Directing MFA at UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television, she was a UCLA TFT/Telluride FilmLAB Fellow, and received the Streisand Sony Fellowship and Jim Morrison Film Award. Her thesis, Cassandra, was awarded the Women in Film Verna Fields Memorial Fellowship, Lynn Weston Fellowship in Film, Adrienne Shelley Award, and Caucus Foundation Grant. It screened at LA Shorts Fest, Ashland International Film Festival, and won an audience award at Woods Hole Film Festival before premiering on KCET (SoCal PBS). Since then, Lia has been invited to speak at schools like Emerson, UCLA, and University of Tampa about the film.

Now based in Los Angeles, she is an Associate Editor on the upcoming feature doc "Would You Hide Me?" and a Lecturer at Loyola Marymount University and UCLA Film School Summer Sessions. She is currently developing a multi-perspective psychological thriller about the college hook up culture that expands upon the themes in Cassandra.

Interviews:

Ashland Independent Film Festival
Woods Hole Film Festival
Banter with Beth