ASALI ECHOLS is a Bay Area filmmaker and film editor, whose work has screened in festivals across the country and worldwide. Her directing credits include the animated documentary The Violin Upstairs (2019) and the award-winning short documentary Lion on the Mat (2021). She's edited award-winning feature documentaries, including 2e: Twice Exceptional (2015), Navajo Math Circles (2016), and High as a Kite (2020). She helped produced the Simons Foundation's 32-part oral history series Science Lives, and edited and produced the You Got to Move short video series about activism in the South.

Asali has worked with Oakland-based Zala Films since 2009 telling documentary stories about scientists and mathematicians. Her current work centers around contemporary American culture, and individuals who forge unique paths. She studied film and biology at UC Berkeley, and has an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University, where she has taught numerous film production classes.