Raised in Toronto, Lu Asfaha takes inspiration from the multicultural city she grew up in and the horror and fantasy shows she grew up on. Her genre work explores humanity’s tendency towards self-destruction and has been supported by Telefilm, OntarioCreates, the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils, BIPOCTV, and WIDC.
She is an alumnus of the 2022 Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, where she made short body horror SIGHT, a 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival official selection. In 2024, her short film FRESH MEAT opened for Boots Riley’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU at the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, after a festival run that included Outfest and the Pan African Film Festival. The horror thriller also screened on CBC’s Canadian Reflections and won Best Canadian Short at the 2022 Regent Park Film Festival.
Lu is the recipient of Women in the Director Chair’s 2024 Feature Film Award, BlueCat’s 2022 Feature Award and Fellini Award for Best International Script, and Regent Park’s 2019 RBC Emerging Director Award. Lu was a Hot Docs Doc Accelerator Fellow and a ScreenCraft finalist. Her directorial and screenwriting work has streamed on CBC Gem and Tubi; with the short films FRESH MEAT and FREEDOM SUMMER, the digital series VIRGINS!, and the feature thriller MY HUSBAND’S BABY. Lu is currently developing her feature film directorial debut with LaRue Entertainment and Snail Mail Media.
representation: Cary Liberman @TheCharacters.com