WE STRANGERS follows a commercial cleaning woman whose life is turned upside down when she starts working for a rich family across town, and in doing so, she begins to shift her personality to fit in with her new employers
Rayelle Martin works as a commercial cleaner in Gary, Indiana. She's mischievous, playful, and skilled at adapting to her surroundings. One day while at work, Ray is approached by Dr. Neeraj Patel, a therapist who hires her to work as his housekeeper. Who’s going to say no to extra money? Not Ray. Dr. Patel then presents her with another offer she can't refuse: a second job cleaning his mistress’s home. At first Ray is just an observer, but then, after growing tired of being a witness, she impulsively tells one small lie: that she can speak to the dead. As Ray attempts to gain ownership over her own identity, she finds herself in an odd new position of power.
Anu Valia is a writer/director whose roots are in India and Indiana. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Anu's work has screened around the world. Her short film, LUCIA, BEFORE AND AFTER won the US Fiction Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017.
Anu’s TV directing credits include SHRINKING (Apple), SHE-HULK (Marvel, Disney+), A MAN ON THE INSIDE (Netflix), The AFTERPARTY (Apple), AND JUST LIKE THAT (HBO), SHRILL (Hulu), NEVER HAVE I EVER (Netflix). She is the executive producer and pilot director for Apple TV's BIG DOOR PRIZE.
Her debut feature, WE STRANGERS, premiered at SXSW in 2024 and is supported by Cinereach, Sundance Institute, Women in Film, Tribeca Institute, IFP, and Hamptons Screenwriters Lab. Her upcoming feature, MOTHER TONGUE, was featured on The Women’s List.
Anu is the inaugural recipient of the Blackwell Prize in Filmmaking in partnership with the University of West Georgia. She is part of the Reframe Rise 2025-2026 cohort, sponsored by Netflix and WIF. She was also named a Gotham Series Creator to Watch in 2025 and a New York Film Festival Artist Resident in 2017.
South by Southwest 2024
Munich Film Festival 2024
Seattle International Film Festival 2024
Atlanta Film Festival 2024
Seattle International Film Festival 2024 - New American Cinema Winner
Atlanta Film Festival 2024 - Honorable Mention
New Orleans Film Festival - Narrative Jury Award
New Hampshire Film Festival - Narrative Jury Award
Athena Film Festival's Breakthrough Award 2025
Actor - Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Actor - Sarah Goldberg
Cinematographer - Charlotte Hornsby
