Who we are.
Ashes to Films exists to turn loss into stories.
Sixteen years ago, I lost my home to a wildfire while attending school in Santa Barbara. The aftermath was brutal - financially, emotionally, and creatively. Once the smoke cleared, the world moved on, but I was still trying to figure out how to start over. What got me through was picking up a camera again. Creating something - anything - gave me direction when everything felt lost.
Ashes to Films is built for that moment. This is about more than healing - it’s about jobs, opportunity, and keeping creative voices in the places that make them strong. Whether you’re a director, a grip, or someone who’s always wanted to tell their story but never had the chance - this is for you.
We hope you’ll join us.
— Shiloh Strong, Founder and CEO of Ashes to Films
SHILOH’S HOME 2009
FRIENDS OF ASHES TO FILMS
The Friends are a group of entertainment industry professionals, supporters, advisors and all around wonderful people who believe in our mission.
Rider Strong
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After being cast in Les Miserables at nine years old, Rider Strong began his career as an actor, best known for his roles on Boy Meets World and the cult horror film, Cabin Fever. Moving behind the camera, Rider wrote and directed short films that played over 60 festivals worldwide and won both audience and juried awards. He returned to his roots, this time as a director, for three seasons of the Emmy-nominated Girl Meets World. In addition to his screenwriting, Rider’s fiction and essays have appeared in The Believer, Bullet Magazine, Whiskey Island, and more. His play Never Ever Land premiered at Theatre Unleashed in Los Angeles in the fall of 2019. He is the creator and co-host of the podcasts Literary Disco and Pod Meet World, the latter of which has garnered over 35 million downloads and spawned a national tour.
Andrew Carlberg
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Named by Variety (alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Coogler, Beau Willimon, and Olivia Wilde) as one of “Hollywoodʼs New Leaders,” Carlberg is an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning film, television, new media, Broadway and Los Angeles stage producer. Andrew’s extensive credits include, but aren’t limited to, ABC’s Castle, DirecTV’s Full Circle, Broadway’s Romeo and Juliet and Side Show, the Neil LaBute penned feature films Some Girl(s) and Dirty Weekend, actress Jennifer Morrison’s feature directorial debut Sun Dogs (Netflix 2018), the 2018 and 2021 Official Sundance Selection The Blazing World (short and feature), SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Award winner The Fallout (HBOMax), the documentary UNICORN TOWN (produced alongside NFL superstar Christian McCaffrey), and the 2021 Academy Award nominated Live Action Short Film Feeling Through.
Notably, Carlberg was the producer of Skin, which won the 2019 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.
Georgia King
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Georgia King is an actor/writer/director whose television credits include a lead role in the critically acclaimed HBO series VICE PRINCIPALS opposite Danny McBride and Walton Goggins, a lead role in Ryan Murphy’s NBC comedy THE NEW NORMAL opposite Andrew Rannells, and most recently, she has been working on Amazon's upcoming TV series SCARPETTA starring Nicole Kidman. On the feature side, King has starred in WILD CHILD, opposite Emma Roberts, KILL YOUR FRIENDS opposite Nicholas Hoult, TANNER HALL opposite Rooney Mara & Brie Larson and AUSTENLAND opposite Jennifer Coolidge and Keri Russell. As a writer/director, King’s work includes the acclaimed festival short YOUR HANDS, in which she stars alongside Nicholas Braun, Lamorne Morris, and Michael Hitchcock. King has also directed music videos for Ben Barnes, Eliza Bennett and British DJ The Last Skeptik. She developed her pilot OBLIVIOUS with Broadway Video, which ABC bought in 2019. Currently, Georgia is finishing up the first season of her podcast AND AWAY WE GO for Wondery and developing her next feature.
Alexandra Barreto
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Alexandra Barreto has been working as an actress, writer, producer, and director for over twenty years. She most recently produced LATE BLOOMERS starring Karen Gillan through her Los Angeles based production company, We’re Doin’ Great. The film premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was released theatrically by Vertical. Alexandra also produced the New York Times Critic Pick TOO LATE which starred Academy Award nominees John Hawkes and Robert Forster and secured a worldwide deal from Netflix.
Alexandra wrote and directed WELCOME TO THE 90s, a segment in Shudder’s horror/comedy anthology SCARE PACKAGE 2: RAD CHAD’S REVENGE. Her directorial debut LADY HATER premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and was named “Top 5 not to be missed shorts from the Tribeca Film Festival” by Forbes. She directed the Audible Original Series CUT AND RUN starring Meg Ryan, Rachel Bloom, and Sam Richardson.
As an actress, Alexandra guest starred and/or recurred on television shows spanning all genres from “Pushing Daisies” to “Justified” to “Parenthood” to a five year run on “The Fosters.” She most recently recurred on the FX breakout hit, “Mayans MC” and CW’s “All American.”
Alexandra is a Film Independent, Gotham, and Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow.
Cindy Cowan
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Cindy Cowan is an Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated film producer with an extensive and successful career in the entertainment industry. Cowan co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) in 1995 with Graham King, where she helped shape it into a leading film production and foreign sales company. During her tenure at IEG, the company achieved numerous successes, including the Emmy-nominated If These Walls Could Talk starring Demi Moore, Cher and Sissy Spacek and the Academy Award-winning Traffic starring Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones and Benicio Del Toro. Cowan also produced Very Bad Things Starring Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz and Jon Favreau, Robert Altman's directorial Dr. T & *the Women starring Richard Gere, and the United Nations Award-winning Savior, starring Denis Quaid among many others.
After founding her own company, Cowan continued to produce high-profile projects, such as Scorched starring Woody Harrelson, Fifty Dead Men Walking, starring Ben Kinglsey and Red Lights starring Robert De Niro, Elizabeth Olsen and Cillian Murphy, which was the highest-grossing film at Sundance in 2012. She also produced the viral horror hit Smiley. Her recent works include Arkansas starring Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth and John Malkovich, Cleaner starring Clive Owen and Daisy Ridley and the Telly Award-winning short La Ruta.
A committed philanthropist, Cowan is involved with several nonprofit organizations, including Music for Relief, We Care Solar, Little Kids Rock, and the World Woman Foundation. She has received numerous honors for her work, including the 2018 Woman of the Year Award and the 2019 Humanitarian of the Year Award. Cowan is a graduate of Tulane University and has pursued graduate courses towards her masters in Psychology at Harvard. In addition to her work in film and philanthropy, she is a world-class equestrian, having won the "World Champion" title multiple times in American Saddlebred five-gaited and equitation competitions.
She is also an accomplished songwriter having written for artists such as Howard Hewitt, Sinitta, amd Engelbert Humperdink.
Jon Huertas
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Jon is an actor, director, and producer best known for his role as Miguel on NBC’s acclaimed series This Is Us, streaming on Netflix. His portrayal covered decades, highlighting his impressive physical transformation. Audiences also recognize him as Detective Javier Esposito from ABC’s dramedy Castle, available on Hulu, and as Sgt. Tony Tony from the acclaimed HBO seriesGeneration Kill.
As a director, Jon’s credits include episodes of Ballard (Amazon), Tracker (CBS), (NBC’s) This is Us and The Irrational, (ABC’s)The Company You Keep, The Rookie, Rookie: Feds, and Castle: Special Features. His production company, WestSide Stories—formed with Groundlings alum Kenny Stevenson—is developing multiple TV, and film projects. to include the adaptation of the novel Fire with Fire by Candace Fox, where he'll executive produce and star, for Lionsgate and NBC.
Jon resides on a 13-acre horse ranch in Northern California’s Gold Country, running a local honey operation and Hopeful Hill Eggs, an honor-system egg stand he inherited from his neighbor’s farm after she recently passed.
Ashleigh Snead
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ASHLEIGH SNEAD is an Independent Spirit Award nominated producer & entrepreneur. She has produced close to 20 films that have played at festivals worldwide including SXSW, Fantasia, Sitges, Comic-Con, Fantaspoa, & BIFAN. Her films include AI sci-fi THE ARTIFICE GIRL which premiered at SXSW 2023 and was distributed by XYZ Films, Shudder's punk rock horror THE RANGER which played SXSW 2018, Netflix Original THE BLOCK ISLAND SOUND, Lucky’s McKee’s chamber thriller OLD MAN starring Stephen Lang, and Shudder’s horror comedy SCARE PACKAGE franchise. Upcoming films include Chris Stuckman's highly anticipated SHELBY OAKS which was Executive Produced by Mike Flanagan and sold to NEON for a wide theatrical release in 2025.
She is a partner & Head of Production at Paper Street Pictures, a co-founder in genre consulting firm Blood Oath whose mission is “making scary movies less scary to make,” a member of the Directors Guild of America as a UPM, and holds an MBA in film producing & entrepreneurship from NYU.
Recently she helped launch the Alaska Filming Initiative which is working with legislatures to re-introduce a film incentive to the state.
Bill Thompson
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Bill began his work with Young Storytellers as a volunteer in 2006. His time as a mentor quickly became the best hour of his week. He served as Executive Director from 2008 through 2023, leading an important period of growth and increased sustainability for Young Storytellers. He is now guiding efforts to scale and maximize impact nationally as the President - Head of Growth. He is a graduate of Yale University (MFA - Drama School) and the University of the Arts (BFA - School of Theatre). Bill has been a Fellow with City Scholars for the past 10 years, is a member of the Policy Council for Create CA, and is the beneficiary of many professional development programs with partners such as Executive Service Corps, the Annenberg Foundation, Hershey Cause Communications, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He was the winner of the Judge’s Award for Innovation at the Social Venture Partners Fast Pitch and the recipient of the Megan G. Cooper Leadership Award from Executive Service Corps.
Dan Mackler
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Dan Mackler is Dean of New York FIlm Academy's Los Angeles Campus and Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of NYFA globally. With a career spanning various facets of the industry, Dan's journey is a testament to his passion for storytelling and his commitment to nurturing future talents.
A graduate of Dartmouth College with a BA in Russian Studies, Dan embarked on a transformative five-year journey in Moscow. There, he initially delved into the world of music videos and commercials, collaborating with top Russian directors. His career then led him to McCann Erickson Advertising, where he managed accounts for renowned brands like General Motors, AT&T, and Bacardi-Martini.
Dan's global adventures continued as he ventured to Chile, contributing his talents to a photo book titled "Eye of the Condor," which celebrated the beauty of the Chilean countryside.
Dan received his MFA in film production from NYU Tisch and post graduation worked as a Russian Consultant for Spike Lee in the “25th Hour” and then worked in casting at 20th Century Fox. He was a director and cinematographer on dozens of shorts and commercials, and his work was selected by several festivals, including South by Southwest, Clermont Ferrand, and the Hamptons international film festival. He later directed the feature “The Karaoke King” which premiered at the Orlando Film Festival.
In 2000, Dan embraced his role as an educator, joining the New York Film Academy where Dan taught cinematography and directing and ran programs at Disney and in London for NYFA. Dan moved to LA in 2003 to run New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles Campus. He has lectured around the globe in universities in England, China, Japan, Russia, India, Ecuador and Chile.
Ari Tan
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Ari Tan is an entertainment industry veteran, with 12+ years of experience.
Ari Tan is the Head of Strategy and Operations of The Mediapro Studio US/Canada—the North American business unit of the award-winning global studio behind international films and television hits.
Prior, he was Head of International Studios at Paramount, where he oversaw the strategic direction and expansion of the international production unit with a footprint spanning more than 20 countries and 15 languages. Ari also served in senior strategy roles throughout Paramount's major revenue-generating divisions, including: Content Distribution, Ad Sales, Themed Entertainment and MTV Entertainment.
Before his switch to entertainment, Ari worked in investment banking and private equity at various Wall Street institutions, such as Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and IFM Investors.
An alum of Cornell and The Wharton School, Ari is energized to build and expand opportunities for the creative community.
Mali Elfman
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Mali Elfman (she/her) is an award winning writer, director and producer. She’s produced many films including Karen Gillan’s THE PARTY’S JUST BEGINNING, Mike Flanagan’s BEFORE I WAKE and Laura Moss's BIRTH/REBIRTH. She was formerly the Head of Production for Fun Size Horror which distributed over 300 short films through Alamo Drafthouse, Amazon, Hulu and more. She was selected for Tribeca and Chanel’s "Through Her Lens" Grant, Cannes Film Festival’s “Breaking Through the Lens” Program and Variety’s “2023 Producers to Watch” list. NEXT EXIT, her debut feature film as a writer and director, premiered at Tribeca and was distributed theatrically by Magnolia Pictures.
Julia Jones
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Julia Jones is a filmmaker and creative strategist with over a decade of experience crafting bold, genre-forward stories and leading marketing campaigns across film, television, and games. She’s spearheaded digital and brand strategy for major franchises like Harley Quinn, James Gunn’s Creature Commandos, and Mortal Kombat 1, specializing in fandom engagement and social storytelling.
As a writer-director, Julia’s work blends stylized genre with raw emotional stakes, often centering fiery female underdogs, power struggles, and characters fighting to reclaim their place in the world. Her NYU thesis film Buckets premiered at Tribeca, and she continues to develop original projects across film and television.
Toby Wilkins
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Toby Wilkins is an award winning British filmmaker known for directing the horror film Splinter (2008) as well as multiple television projects, and Sundance Festival short films. Wilkins’ extensive background in post production, editing, and visual effect will be an invaluable resource for Ashes to Films.
Katherine Croft
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Katherine Croft is a Producer, and Writer + Director, currently living in NYC. She came up as a producer in Los Angeles, and served as an Executive Producer and Head of Film + TV at ByAssociation. Over the strike, Katherine produced 8 short films in six months, which are now currently on the festival circuit, and have been featured at Raindance, LALIFF, Dances With Films, and South by Southwest. Her commercial advertising work has included clients such as Apple, Saint Laurent, Bose, and Clinique. She is currently in pre-production on her next feature, which will be shot in New York this fall.
Ben Tedesco
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Ben Tedesco is an award-winning director and writer. He’s worked with top-tier brands such as Chevrolet, Guinness, Heidi Klum, Dr. Pepper, and more. His work has been honored and awarded at film festivals around the world, as well as the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. His award-winning lockdown-created feature film No Tomorrow is currently in worldwide distribution. Most recently, his short film Obit, a film that delves into mental health, has entered the festival circuit. He’s also working on his next feature films.
Ben’s knowledge, experience, and driven spirit led him through several job titles throughout the years, ranging from production assistant to production supervisor and ultimately, director. While Ben loves traveling, he currently resides in Santa Monica, where he can often be found in the kitchen creating creative dishes.
Matthew Brewbaker
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Matthew is a film and VR producer based in Los Angeles, and a co-founder of VEU and Viscape Arts. He works at the intersection of storytelling and technology, with a focus on pushing narrative media into new spaces. His latest co- venture, Nokturnal Entertainment, is positioned to build creative bridges between Hollywood and the Korean film industry, connecting IP and talent across borders.