Ashley Avis

Ashley Avis (born January 27, 1987) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Her credits include the feature films '' Deserted'' (2016), ''Adolescence'' (2018), and ''Black Beauty'' (2020) starring Kate Winslet and Mackenzie Foy.

Early life

Avis was born in Chicago, Illinois to Richard Avis and Victoria Woods. She has one younger brother, Richard Avis. At five years old, Avis' family relocated from Chicago to St. Petersburg, Florida where Avis grew up. She was a competitive equestrian from the age of seven to seventeen, competing on the hunter/jumper circuit in Florida. In 2003, Avis traveled to Ghana, West Africa for the Model of the Universe pageant, winning the title of Miss Teen Model of the Universe.

Avis has expressed that she always wanted to become a writer, and thought she would eventually become a young adult author or novelist. She attended college in New York, double majoring in International Business and Marketing at Manhattan College in Riverdale, and graduated in three years in 2008. She worked as a real estate agent, a web designer, and at Nielsen Media as a journalist, eventually being promoted to the regional editor during her college years. After trying theater in Manhattan, she became attracted to writing screenplays.

Career

In 2009, Avis relocated from New York to Los Angeles, California, saving up money to produce her first pilot for a series called ''The Cynical Life''. Because she didn't have the funds to hire a producer or a director, she took on those roles herself. The project caught the attention of Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra, who executive produced three episodes. From there, Avis directed and produced the classical music documentary ''Opus X'', featuring Lone Madsen and Caroline Campbell, which Giustra also executive produced.

Avis formed her production company Alchemy Pictures in 2010, and began directing and producing branded commercial content, eventually landing clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Pfizer, and the Cali Group. She wrote and directed multiple spots for technology client Miso Robotics featuring the AI robot "Flippy", which has garnered over 1 billion impressions to date, and has been featured on websites such as Forbes, TechCrunch, and The Wall Street Journal.

In 2013, Avis was hired by producer Todd Labarowski of Dreambridge Films to write the screenplay adaptation of the novel ''The Cybil Raven Chronicles'', based on the novel by Tony Timbol and Crystal Craven.

In 2015, Avis made her directorial debut with the psychological thriller '' Deserted'', starring Mischa Barton, Winter Ave Zoli, Trent Ford, Jake Busey, Sebastian Bach, Gerry Bednob, Jackson Davis, and Kelly Brannigan. She wrote the original screenplay and also produced the film, which was edited by Douglas Crise. In 2016, she directed her second feature, the coming of age story ''Adolescence,'' starring India Eisley, Elisabeth Rohm, Tommy Flanagan and Jere Burns. The film also features the original music of Zac Brown Band member John Driskell Hopkins.

In 2016, Avis traveled to Cape Town, South Africa for the Bokeh South African International Film Festival, where she won the Mercedes-Benz award for her film ''Bespoke'' starring Cuban model and recording artist Natalia Barulich, and actor Miklos Banyai.

She will next write the screenplay, as well as direct the modern day reprisal of Anna Sewell's classic novel Black Beauty for Constantin Film.

Personal life

In 2013, Avis met her future husband and producing partner Edward Winters. They became engaged in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa, and were married on June 6, 2015.

Filmography

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avis, Ashley
1987 births
Living people
American women screenwriters
American women film directors
People from Chicago
People from St. Petersburg, Florida
21st-century American women