Lydia Rui is a Chinese Australian writer and director based in the UK. She/they grew up between mainland China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore, before graduating with a BFA in Film & TV from NYU Tisch School of the Arts after stymied pursuits in nature documentary, primatology, and the humanities. At the age of 23, they travelled through North America and Europe as the videographer for Beyoncé’s Mrs. Carter World Tour. In 2020, they won the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival’s Rebel8 Emerging Female Filmmaker Award and have been Australian Directors’ Guild Award nominated twice. They are a recent MA of Directing Fiction graduate from the National Film & Television School, UK, with support from Screen Australia Enterprise and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Fund. Her short films have screened at festivals such as Tribeca Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, L’Etrange Festival, and been Vimeo Staff Picked. They are currently developing their debut, Counting Cards With My Father at the TorinoFilmLab 2023 and are also in development with Pulse Films for their feature, The Island (working title). They have recently been profiled as one of five ESEA filmmakers to watch in the UK.
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