The Global Search for Education: Lia IRL: From Screen to Friendship

Posted By C. M. Rubin on Nov 10, 2025

This month on Planet Classroom, audiences can watch Lia IRL, directed by Milda Baginskaitė and starring William Flanagan, Laura Breen, and Rob Lloyd. The film follows Simon, an introverted boy who practices conversation with a voice-activated assistant. Rehearsing social cues on his phone builds courage until Lia’s limits push him toward real-world friendship, turning everyday spaces into steps toward connection, confidence, and lasting belonging. This film is curated by KIDS FIRST! Film Festival for Planet Classroom.

The Global Search for Education is pleased to welcome the film’s director, Milda Baginskaitė.

Your wide-frame approach shapes Simon’s interior world. What visual rules or constraints did you set for framing and camera movement to mirror his social distance—and when did you consciously break them?

I wanted Simon’s social distance to live in the frame, so I set rules of holding on wide static shots and keeping the camera an observer, giving him negative space and silence. The only times I broke that distance—with gentle push-ins or closer framing—were when Simon reached toward connection, so the visual language shifts with his emotional arc.

Lia is both a tool and a character. How did you navigate the ethics of portraying AI as supportive without overpromising—through dialogue, sound design, or moments where its limits nudge Simon back to real life?

Lia had to feel supportive but not magical, so I worked with dialogue that was helpful yet limited, voice design that was warm but never human, and intentional “fail” moments where Lia misreads or refuses, nudging Simon back toward real people. I saw Lia and Larry (both AI) as characters, and so I wanted them to be as fleshed out as possible but not fully human.

Working with a young lead on social-cue rehearsal is delicate. What methods did you and your team (producer Diva Rodriguez, cast) use to elicit authentic beats—especially in the transitions from isolation to connection?

To keep the performance authentic, I used games to practice silence and small gestures, built trust with Will (the lead actor), and broke transitions into micro-beats. It was easy to talk to Will about the character subtleties. Although young, Will could understand the script and story subtext well.

The film threads humour (e.g., the pillow gag) into a sensitive arc. How did you calibrate tone in the edit—what scenes or rhythms were pivotal to balancing warmth with realism in the final cut?

The humour only works if tension is built and released carefully, so in the edit I leaned on rhythm. I aimed to build on casual everyday moments, which allowed me to play lightheartedly with jokes within the scenes.

It’s a wonderful story — thank you!