Talia Lugacy
Talia Lugacy | |
|---|---|
| Born | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Director, writer, producer, actress |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse | |
Talia Lugacy is an American film director, writer and producer.[1][2] She is best known for her work on the films Descent and This Is Not a War Story.[3][4]
Life and Career
Lugacy was born in New York City, New York to Moroccan Jewish and Greek parents. She graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She is an assistant professor of Screen Studies at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.[1][5]
Lugacy's debut feature film, Descent, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and it was a New York Times Critics' Pick.[6][4] In 2021, her second feature film This Is Not a War Story, premiered at 2021 SF Indie Fest, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.[7] She is also slated to direct the upcoming feature film Dark Days & the Dawn.[8]
Lugacy's upcoming feature film, Ruby Road, was shot in 2025 and is expected for a 2026 premiere.[9] The film stars Frances Fisher, Will Patton, and Lauren Holly. Lugacy and her forthcoming film were selected by U.S. in Progress at their 2025 event in Poland, receiving three awards for VFX and sound post-production.[10][11] The feature was also a recipient of the 2025 SFFILM Rainin Grant in San Francisco[12].
In 2025, she was named one of the Film-Video recipients of the Guggenheim Fellowship.[13]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Little Black Dress | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2007 | Descent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film |
| 2021 | This Is Not a War Story | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film |
| TBA | Ruby Road | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film |
| TBA | Dark Days & the Dawn | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film |
As actress
- 2014 : The Shape of Something Squashed
- 2021 : This Is Not a War Story
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Winner | Atlanta Underground Film Festival | Jury Prize Best Feature Narrative | This Is Not a War Story | [14] |
| Urbanworld Film Festival | [15] | ||||
| Workers Unite Film Festival | [16] | ||||
| Cinelounge Film Festival | [17] | ||||
| Winner | San Francisco Indie Fest | Audience Award, Best Feature Narrative | [18] | ||
| Indie Street Film Festival | [19] | ||||
| Woods Hole Film Festival | [20] | ||||
| Winner | New York Women in Film & Television | Best Director | [21] | ||
| Urbanworld Film Festival | [15] | ||||
| Portland Film Festival | [22] | ||||
| Tallgrass Film Festival | [23] | ||||
| 2022 | Winner | Blackbird Film Festival | Jury Prize Best Feature Narrative | [24] | |
| Nominated | Independent Spirit Awards | John Cassavetes Award | [25] |
References
- ^ a b "Talia Lugacy". newschool.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Rosario Dawson & Talia Lugacy on Descent". comingsoon.net. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Descent". hollywoodreporter.com. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ a b Seitz, Matt Zoller (10 August 2007). "MOVIE REVIEW - 'DESCENT'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Talia Lugacy Releases Feature Film This Is Not a War Story". blogs.newschool.edu. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "DESCENT". tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "This is Not a War Story". sfindiefest2021.eventive.org. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ Lang, Brent (2023-06-08). "Rosario Dawson, Sam Adegoke Join Cast of Talia Lugacy's 'Dark Days & the Dawn' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2025-09-30). "Frances Fisher, Will Patton, Lauren Holly Lead 'Ruby Road', Which Saw All Cast & Crew Get Same Daily Pay; Rosario Dawson Exec-Produces". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "TAURON American Film Festival". www.americanfilmfestival.pl. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
- ^ Balaga, Marta (2025-11-07). "Melissa Leo Starrer and New Animation from 'Cryptozoo' Team Among Tauron American Film Festival's U.S. in Progress Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Tiong, Jay (2025-12-02). "Meet the 2025 SFFILM Artist Development Grant Recipients". SFFILM. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Announcing the 2025 Guggenheim Fellows — Guggenheim Fellowships: Supporting Artists, Scholars, & Scientists". Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Festival, Atlanta Underground Film. "Atlanta Underground Film Festival". Atlanta Underground Film Festival. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ a b "Festival Winners 2021 - Urbanworld". urbanworld.org. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Workers Unite! Film Festival 2021". Worker Unite! Film Festival. 2026-02-17. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Film Fest :: Cinelounge® Cinemas". cineloungecinemas.com. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "SF IndieFest Award Winners Announced". sfindie.com. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Lugacy, Talie (2021-11-03). "How to Rethink the Budget Needs and Hierarchies of Traditional Film Production to Enable Creative Freedom: On the Making of This Is Not a War Story". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "2021 Award Winners". woodsholefilmfestival.org. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "The 25th Anniversary Urbanworld Film Festival Announces This Year's Winners - blackfilm.com". www.blackfilm.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Welcome to The Portland Film Festival, MovieMaker Readers. | Portland Film Festival - #portland". Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "The 19th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival Award Winners". tallgrassfilm.org. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Blackbird Film Festival 2022". blackbird2022.eventive.org. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "These are the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees". filmindependent.org. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
External links
- Talia Lugacy at IMDb