In 2009 Zia became the youngest winner ever of the prestigious “Genius Award” for film, presented by The Stranger. As a director and cinematographer, he broke out in his career shooting music videos for critically acclaimed hip-hop artists Macklemore, Blue Scholars, The Physics, Jake One, and others. Often called “a master of light” Zia is also a highly sought-after cinematographer for other directors. Writer Charles Mudede wrote about Zia, “Through his technical knowledge of filmmaking and sharp artistic instincts he has been able to democratize ‘the beautiful image’ and make it accessible to people.” In 2016 Zia wrote and directed his first narrative film, Hagereseb, which was awarded prizes at US and international film festivals, and he went on to develop it into a feature titled, “Know Your Place”, set for release in 2020.