Photo by Brett Davis

Lydia Cornett is a filmmaker based between New York, NY and Columbus, OH. As a former musician turned filmmaker, she makes work that unites the restraint of observational storytelling with the physicality and connective qualities she associates with music-making. Her work has screened at AFI Fest, AFI Docs, Sheffield DocFest, BAMCinemaFest, Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs International Short Fest, Hamptons International Film Festival, and DOC NYC, where she recieved a Special Jury Mention for her film Yves & Variation. She was awarded fellowships to the Jacob Burns Film Center’s Creative Culture program and the UnionDocs’ Collaborative Studio, and she has received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, IF/Then Shorts, the Princess Grace Foundation, and NYFA's NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre. Her work has been distributed and featured by The New Yorker, PBS (POV and Reel South) Nowness, and Vimeo Staff Picks.

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Lydia graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history, and she is a classically trained violinist. She is a co-organizer and co-programmer of Cineseries, a graduate-student-led screening series at the Wexner Center for the Arts.