Meet Lydia Muir | Producer & Showrunner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lydia Muir and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lydia, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m half English, half Taiwanese and grew up in multiple countries around the world. I was raised in a multicultural and bilingual household and was constantly exposed to people from different backgrounds and cultures. The one thing I learned from all these international experiences is that at our core, we are all the same. It doesn’t matter where you are, what you look like or what you believe in, there are some universal themes and stories that we can all relate to. This is something I hold on to when I work on all my projects; how can my stories be related to universally? Of course, not every story can be universal but hopefully there are certain elements that will speak to people no matter who they are.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was looking for a way to fill my time while I was on exchange in Melbourne and stumbled into an assistant stage manager position at the student musical theatre club. That experience showed me that you don’t have to be a performer to work in the creative industries. I started to look into film and theatre production and decided that was the path I wanted to take. I was studying in the Netherlands at the time and the industry was very small there so I decided to pack my suitcase and move to London. I had enough for one months savings and the day before I was about to run out of money, I got a job working at an ice cream shop. I started my supergirl style life – ice cream scooper by day, film producer by night! I reached out to any producer I could find contact information for, applied to any entry-level programs and started to build a network and gain some experience as a PA. After a year of that, I pivoted slightly and moved to Taiwan to learn more about my background and culture (since I am half-Taiwanese). It was an incredible experience filled with many positive and negative life-changing moments: I lost my Mom to cancer, was in a toxic relationship, started a podcast, became a preschool teacher to name but a few! Eventually, I decided that having experienced all these things, I wanted to put everything I had gone through into stories. I moved to New York to complete the Producing Program at the New York Film Academy and really worked on my craft as a writer, director and producer. Since then, I have worked on a variety of projects from short films to music videos to creating my own web series.

My favourite part about people and the world we live in, is the relationships we have. I have always been fascinated by connections whether they are romantic, platonic, familial, work, and even between strangers. The way people interact and how we are affected by others is something I focus on a lot in all the projects that I work on. Due to this, I also pride myself in being a leader who prioritises my team and the people in it. I use kindness and encouragement to inspire my collaborators to work hard and also enjoy the process! At the end of the day, we are all in this because we love it and I think it is a shame when people forget that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The best part about living in New York, is that there’s always something new happening! However, I do have a few favourite spots. Start with a coffee at St. Kilda (best coffee ever!), walk to the west side of Manhattan and enjoy the coffee while walking down to little island. Do some people watching before walking to the west village to get some lunch. I love exploring the thrift stores around the city or buying a book at the famous Strand store. Dinner at Spicy Moon (a vegan sichuan place) and then a broadway show! Some of my other favourite spots are Bryant park, Brooklyn bridge, Chinatown, and Hudson yard. There is so much to explore in the city, sometimes it is fun to just wander without a destination – you’d be surprised at how many new things you may discover.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I feel extremely lucky in my life in that no matter what stage of life I was in, I have always had supportive people around me. From my parents to my friends to my classmates and colleagues. Working in this industry, there are a lot of ups and downs and when you are in a down moment, it can be hard to see the positive sides of things. I am always surrounded by people who are willing to listen to me rant and encourage me to keep going even when things get tough. So I want to dedicate my shoutout to anyone who has ever supported me.

Website: www.lydiamuir.com

Instagram: @lydiamuir_film

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCBRT-z-9s9QlvCpxb8e6m_Q

Image Credits
Regan Hicks