Sundance Film Festival short film award-winning filmmaker Anu Valia (2017’s Lucia, Before and After) has been hitting the pavement on a slew of television directing gigs with her passion project being adjacent for the better part of an almost decade now. Her debut is set to launch in 2024 and it is backed by five producers including Mirmade’s Miranda Kahn (Scare Me) and Killjoy Films’ Joy Jorgensen (Runner). Kirby Howell-Baptiste toplines We Strangers — where a cleaning lady decides to shift the power dynamic ultimately moving from her insular world into a mischievous land of dusting surface anarchy. I had the chance to speak to Anu Valia in Wroclaw.
While the eco-system remains inherently delicate, the American micro indie film scene thrives, and IONCINEMA.com will highlight this vitality in our comprehensive interview series. We will trace the journey of films through in-depth conversations with the filmmakers and producers responsible for their creation, focusing on the eight projects chosen for the 2023 U.S. in Progress, a part of the American Film Fest in Wrocław. Throughout our year-plus coverage, we’ll delve into the evolution of these original works, from the post-production phase to picture lock and ultimately to their premieres at film festivals. Among the class of ’23 we find Tyler Taormina‘s Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, Cutter Hodierne‘s Cold Wallet, Sarah Friedland‘s Familiar Touch, India Donaldson‘s Good One, Edson Jean‘s Know Me, Albert Birney‘s Obex, Morgan Krantz‘s The Water is Always Warm and Anu Valia‘s We Strangers.
