Lydia Dean Pilcher facts for kids

Lydia Dean Pilcher is an American film and television producer and director. She started her own company called Cine Mosaic, which is based in New York City.

She has won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2014 for a film called Cutie and the Boxer. She also produced The Lunchbox, which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Lydia Pilcher has worked on over 35 films. These include The Darjeeling Limited and many films with director Mira Nair, like The Namesake and Queen of Katwe. She also worked on HBO Films' The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which starred Oprah Winfrey.

In 2018, Lydia Pilcher directed her first solo movie, A Call to Spy. This was a thriller based on true stories of women spies during World War II. Before that, in 2017, she co-directed Radium Girls with Joey King. She also directed an HBO documentary called "Reno Finds her Mom."

Recently, she was an Executive Producer for the mini-series "A Suitable Boy." She is also working on a project about the life of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.

Making Movies and TV Shows

Lydia Pilcher studied Political Science and Communications in college. Then, she got a Master's degree in Film and Television from New York University in 1983. She started her career making documentaries. She also worked on the production teams for many feature films. Some of these famous movies include After Hours, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Quiz Show.

In 2002, Pilcher started her own production company, Cine Mosaic, in New York City. Her company has produced many award-winning independent films. She is good at working with international teams and finding ways to fund movies.

In 2010, Lydia Pilcher was nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and PGA Award. This was for producing the HBO film You Don't Know Jack. She also produced The Darjeeling Limited and eleven movies with director Mira Nair. These include Amelia, starring Hilary Swank as the famous pilot, and The Namesake. In 2005, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the HBO film Iron Jawed Angels. She was also nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe in 2004 for Normal.

Helping the Environment in Film

Lydia Pilcher is a founder and leader of PGA Green. This is a group within the Producers Guild of America that started in 2006. Its goal is to make the entertainment industry more environmentally friendly. PGA Green won an award in 2011 for its efforts.

With help from big studios like Disney and Warner Bros., PGA Green created the Green Production Guide. This guide helps film, TV, and commercial professionals make their productions more sustainable. It has a tool to calculate carbon emissions. It also offers a guide with best practices and a list of companies that provide eco-friendly products and services for the industry.

Pilcher is also a member of The Climate Reality Project, which was started by Al Gore. She often speaks at film festivals and events about environmental issues. The City of New York has given her an award for her important contributions to the media and entertainment industries in the city.

Groups and Organizations

Lydia Pilcher is involved in many important groups. These include:

• Vice President of Motion Pictures for the Producers Guild of America (2014–2018).
• Co-Founder and Chair of PGA Women's Impact Network (2013–2018).
• Co-Founder and Chair of PGA Green (2006–present).
• Board Member for Maisha Film Lab, which is based in East Africa (2004–present).
• She was named one of the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Women's eNews in 2005.
• She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.

Personal Life

Lydia Pilcher is married to Mark Friedberg, who is a production designer. They have two children together.

Selected Filmography

Producer

• The Kill–Off (1988)
• Longtime Companion (1989)
• Mississippi Masala (1991)
• The Perez Family (1995)
• Chinese Box (1997)
• Cradle Will Rock (1999)
• Jesus' Son (1999)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Disappearing Acts (2000)
• Hysterical Blindness (2002)
• 11'09"01 September 11 (2002) – segment: India
• Normal (2003)
• Iron Jawed Angels (2004)
• Lipstick & Dynamite, ... & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling (2004)
• Vanity Fair (2004)
• The Namesake (2006)
• The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
• Amelia (2009)
• You Don't Know Jack (2010)
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)
• Cutie & The Boxer (2013) – Nominated: Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
• The Lunchbox (2014)
• The Sisterhood of Night (2015)
• Queen of Katwe (2016)
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
• A Suitable Boy (2020) (Television miniseries)

Director

• Reno Finds Her Mom (1998) – director, producer
• Radium Girls (2018) – director only
• A Call to Spy (2019) – director, producer

See also

• List of female film and television directors