Lizette Barrera is a Texas-based filmmaker whose work explores identity, resilience, and human connection, often through the diaspora lens. Drawn to emotionally honest, character-driven stories, she crafts narratives that illuminate the quiet tensions and deep bonds within families and communities.

Her work has screened at festivals and aired on networks worldwide, including her previously HBO-licensed short films Mosca (Fly) (2019) and ¡Cóme! (Eat!) (2020), the ESPN-licensed short documentary Mr. Pastor Jones (2016), and her short film Chicle (Gum), which world premiered at SXSW, earning recognition for their emotional precision and grounded performances and a jury nomination award. 

She is currently developing her debut feature Chicle (Gum)—a coming-of-age drama about grief and fractured relationships—which she received the Austin Film Society’s Development Grant for and participated in AFS’s Artist Intensive hosted by Richard Linklater. She is also a recipient of the WarnerMedia OneFifty Grant, the SFFILM Rainin Grant, and was a past participant in the Gotham Market for the anthology feature Untitled Texas Latina Project, which she is co-creating with four Texas Latina directors. Together, they aim to tell layered, culturally specific stories that reflect the diverse realities of Tejanas today. 

She is currently producing Rancho, a hybrid fiction and documentary feature film with Colombian filmmaker Andrés F. Torres, following Mexican-American childhood star Diego Nevarez. As well as producing the Latino Film Institute and Netflix–supported short film And Everything Turned Itself Inside Out, written and directed by filmmaker Merced Elizondo, a drama about birthmarks revealing past lives. Lizette has also served as assistant to showrunner Kat Candler on the unreleased TV series Untitled Josh and Lauren Project, created by Ava DuVernay, Joshua Jackson, and Lauren Ridloff.

In addition to her narrative work, Lizette directs and produces branded and commercial content, earning Webby and Telly Awards for campaigns that blend cinematic storytelling with emotional authenticity. Whether working with actors or real people, she approaches every project with care, clarity, and a deep respect for the lived experience behind the story.

Originally born in Los Angeles and raised in Dallas/Fort Worth, Lizette holds an MFA in Directing from UT Austin and has taught filmmaking at UT Arlington. She is committed to fostering inclusive storytelling spaces and bringing underrepresented perspectives to the screen with nuance and heart.