Tatia Pilieva is a Los Angeles-based director known for documentary-inflected storytelling that captures spontaneous human vulnerability. Born in the Republic of Georgia, she earned her MFA from the American Film Institute's Directors Program, where she began collaborating with cinematographer Andre Lascaris. Her breakout "First Kiss" (2014) for Wren—a self-funded $1,300 film featuring strangers kissing on camera—exploded to 130 million views and won the Grand Clio in Film and a Gold Lion at Cannes, establishing her as a pioneer of the social-experiment ad genre. Pilieva's methodology, influenced by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, employs multi-camera setups, extensive pre-rolls, and minimal crew to let life unfold organically. She has directed global campaigns for Knorr ("Love at First Taste," the second most-watched ad of 2016), Lufthansa ("Say Yes To The World," shot across four countries), Facebook, Delta, Ford, Verizon, and SoFi. Her work spans music videos (U2's "You're the Best Thing About Me," Rita Ora) and narrative features (*Forever*, 2015). Currently working with Pulse Films (US/UK) and Wallop Film (Canada, as of April 2025), she is developing feature film *LIFE'S A PARTY* and a TV series with Killer Films.