Dedee was introduced to Ashley through their mutual friend and fellow animal activist Lindsey Brooks. “Being sober you really understand the meaning of community and how important it is and people who love animals are yet another very special community that will never stop until animals are treated humanely. I am honored to have her as my guest. I look forward to following her passionate journey with stopping the cruel wild horse roundups and helping her in any way I can with all her animal rights films/documentaries…"
Ashley Avis is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of six feature films and over 100 commercials to date.
A passionate advocate for horses, she is also the Founder & President of 501c3 nonprofit The Wild Beauty Foundation.
She recently wrote, directed, and edited BLACK BEAUTY for Disney+ starring Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy, and Iain Glen. The film debuted over Thanksgiving 2020 and was reviewed as a "gorgeous, sweeping epic" by Richard Roeper of the Chicago-Sun Times.
She is next set to write and direct the reimagining of CITY OF ANGELS for Warner Bros., Atlas Entertainment, and Perez Pictures inspired by the classic romance WINGS OF DESIRE by Wim Wenders. The film will be produced by Charles Roven, Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley, and Paul Perez.
In 2018, Ashley embarked on what would become a five year long passion project in her award winning documentary WILD BEAUTY: MUSTANG SPIRIT OF THE WEST, exploring the stunning natural beauty as well as controversial government treatment of wild horses in the United States. In 2023, she was awarded a Special Congressional Commendation for her work by Congresswoman Dina Titus.
Previous projects for Ashley include 2016's DESERTED, her independent feature debut, along with the coming of age story ADOLESCENCE in 2018 starring India Eisley, Tommy Flanagan, and Elisabeth Rohm. In 2020, she was brought aboard by Imagine's Ron Howard, Brain Grazer, and Stephanie Sperber to create a television series based on the iconic Breyer horse brand.
Upcoming projects include 2023's THE LAMB for MBC, the story of an eight-year-old boy who goes on a quest across the vast Arabian desert to save the orphan lamb he loves; and THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS based on the novel by Rowan Coleman.
Ashley is the co-founder of Winterstone Pictures, and lives in Los Angeles near the ocean with her husband and producing partner, Edward Winters along with their pup Whiskey. In her spare time, she rescues horses and has begun writing her first children's book.
www.ashleyavis.com
www.wildbeautyfoundation.org