Zia Mandviwalla is a globally awarded director known for human-centered storytelling across commercials, documentaries, and short films. Born in India and raised in Dubai, she moved to New Zealand at 18 and studied English and History at Auckland University before beginning her filmmaking career. Her 2012 short film Night Shift premiered in main competition at Cannes, screened at Sundance and the New York Film Festival, and won multiple international awards including the Golden Firebird Award at Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Silver Medal at 24fps International Short Film Festival. She became the first international and first female director on Netflix's Emmy-nominated Chef's Table, earning a James Beard Award nomination for Best Direction for her Season 6 episode featuring chef Asma Khan. She also directed the "Pehlwani" episode of Netflix's Home Game series, documenting female mud wrestlers in Varanasi, India. Her commercial work includes campaigns for Woolworths, Kiwibank, Spark, BNZ, Vodafone, Feeding America, Gidget Foundation, and New World, characterized by nuanced performance direction and refined visual craft. Named New Filmmaker of the Year by New Zealand Screen Production Development Association in 2009, she has served on juries at Spikes Asia, Axis, and Dubai Lynx, where she was appointed Film Craft Jury President in 2026. She is working with GREATERGOOD in the US and Finch in Australia and New Zealand.