Elizabeth Mirzaei is an Oscar-nominated director and cinematographer of nonfiction films. Her short film Three Songs For Benazir won a Cinema Eye Honors Award, a Grierson Award, a dozen jury awards, and was nominated for a 2022 Academy Award. The film was released by Netflix. Her award-winning feature Laila At The Bridge played at film festivals including Locarno and CPH:DOX and had a theatrical release in the United Kingdom. Her work as a cinematographer has been screened at TIFF and Venice, among others. She is a Film Independent Fellow, and has been a mentor for Global Media Makers and an advisor for Sundance Co//ab. She lives in California with her husband, Gulistan, their three daughters and family from Afghanistan. Natalia is her first independently directed film.