Niav studied acting at Skidmore College, then moved to France where she began making films and videos. In France, she participated in workshops with renowned filmmakers Boris Lehman and Pedro Costa. She was also oscarized filmmaker Joseph Strick's personal assistant for many years. She has had several shorts in festivals worldwide, and her first feature Un peu plus d'éternité, recently came out on DVD with L'Harmattan Vidéo. Currently back in New York with an MFA in filmmaking from CCNY where she studied under Chantal Akerman, she has received the Kodak Award for cinematography, as well as the NYWIFT scholarship, and is a 2013 Princess Grace Award winner. She is pursuing a career in narrative filmmaking and cinematography.