“Shades of Gray is very good. It was very well directed.” — Jim Sheridan, Oscar-nominated writer/director of ‘My Left Foot’.
Image courtesy of Irish Film New York/Film Ireland
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“Fiona is a working professional with a great understanding of the complexities of making a good film. She has the abilities to be a key member of any creative team.” — Bruce A. Block, co-producer of Hollywood blockbuster ‘What Women Want’, Los Angeles.
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“Fiona Ashe shadowed me for three days, including a stunt day, when I was directing episodes of the Netflix TV drama series ‘The Stranger’. From the outset, she showed a strong understanding of how the drama production process works. She is a fast learner and she enthusiastically took on board all of the insights I offered. She showed confidence on set and developed a great relationship with all members of the cast and crew in a very short space of time. In my opinion, she has the skills, decision-making acumen and personal qualities that would serve any production extremely well.” — Hannah Quinn, director of ‘The Stranger’ (Netflix), ‘Eastenders’, ‘Blood’, and ‘Red Rock’.
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“As Lead Director on ‘Blood’, Season 2, Fiona Ashe shadowed me over two days of filming. While on location, I found Fiona to be very aware and knowledgeable of the filming process. She showed a real understanding to how a scene might be blocked out and filmed. She was able to talk through the nuances of how the camera and performance worked together. I have also had dealings with Fiona through the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland. She has always proved to be diligent and keen to get involved on many issues regarding the work of directors. I would not hesitate to recommend Fiona towards any endeavour she puts her mind to and regard her as an extremely talented director.” — Maurice Sweeney, director of ‘Blood’ and ‘Trial Of The Century’.
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“I have known filmmaker and journalist Fiona Ashe for more than 20 years. I had the pleasure of working with her when my company was producing the ‘Agenda’ programme for TV3. She was a producer and broadcast journalist at TV3 and we had a really good working relationship and experience. I have since kept abreast of her work and was very impressed with her process for script development, visual approach and designing pitch documents when we collaborated on the development of a film in 2018. She is always prepared, focused, creative, and an excellent communicator and collaborator. Fiona is a very talented writer, director and producer, who specialises in impactful films about social injustice (she directed the award-winning Film Noir ‘Shades of Gray’). She also has a first-class journalistic background, which fuels her unique filmmaking voice. Her ability to excel and contribute in all three roles — screenwriting, producing and directing — is invaluable, and elevates the consistency of vision in her projects. I recommend her unreservedly.” — John Kelleher, producer, owner of John Kelleher Media.
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Fiona Ashe directed an online table read at the London Screenwriters’ Festival 2020 and an online rehearsal of the play ‘Conduct Unbecoming’ for the Soldiers’ Arts Academy. Here are testimonials for her directing from the actors and one of the writers:
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“Fiona Ashe has created in Shades of Gray a gem that reeks of the atmosphere of New York in the dead of night, a time when people die and others seek revenge.” — Peter Sheridan, award-winning writer/director of ‘Borstal Boy’.
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“While working in Dublin, I met Fiona Ashe and was immediately impressed with her background, experience and skills as well as the depth and importance of her projects. The Irish directors that I have worked with have a special passion for storytelling and filmmaking. Fiona Ashe is also dedicated to telling stories that matter, that will make a difference.” — Mark W. Travis, Acting Coach on ‘The Young Messiah’; Author of ‘The Film Director’s Bag of Tricks’.
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“Fiona is a rising star as a writer/director – one to watch” — Edwina Forkin, award-winning producer of ‘Sanctuary’.
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“It has been my pleasure to know Fiona Ashe in a professional capacity for the last few years. I can certainly vouch for her talent as a screenwriter and a director. I have no hesitation in labelling her a talent to watch and I look forward to the day when she wows us with her feature debut.” — David Gleeson, writer of ‘Tolkien’.
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“Fiona’s qualities as a director mirror what I have experienced on set with the established directors. Her attention to detail from preparation, storyboarding, rehearsals and directing on set made me feel I was in the capable hands of someone that cares about the filmmaking and storytelling process. As an actor I put my full faith and confidence of my performance in my director and I felt I was able to as much immediately with Fiona. I can’t wait to get on set with her in the near future.” — Paddy C. Courtney, actor, ‘Shameless’ (Channel 4, UK), ‘Safe’ (Netflix UK).
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“I had the opportunity to work with Fiona Ashe in a couple of workshops for directors and actors. Fiona was a joy to work with! She has a great rapport with actors, and collaborates easily, giving actors a chance to have input into scene work, from script analysis to rehearsals to the shoot. Fiona’s collaborative process establishes trust between the director and the actors, and her nurturing approach creates a platform for actors to deliver their best performances.” — Lesa Thurman, actress, ‘The Secret Scripture’, ‘Quirke’ (including scenes with Gabriel Byrne)
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“I have had the pleasure of working with Fiona Ashe at various acting workshops/readings over the past few years and have found them extremely useful. Fiona has a great capacity to communicate her ideas clearly as a director and to collaborate with actors in a way which inspires and motivates them to both own their performances and serve the overall story. I would relish the opportunity to work further with Fiona.” — Geraldine McAlinden, actress, ‘Black 47′, ‘Ordinary Love’ (including scenes with Liam Neeson).
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“Fiona, thank you for the amazing direction! The last read-through was amazing and all of the actors found the characters and intention. Powerful stuff!” — Max Hamilton, actor, ‘Conduct Unbecoming’.
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“I was the cinematographer on spec TV drama scenes directed by Fiona Ashe in 2018. She was very ambitious in her vision and had storyboarded many camera and lighting set-ups per day for the scenes. She had given careful consideration to the shots that would best tell the story, including tracking shots, unusual angles and visual metaphors. Because she was very well prepared, we filmed all of the planned shots in the time available. Fiona has a thorough understanding of what actors need and she works with them closely: this approach is reflected in the quality of the finished piece. She was incredibly organised, which meant the production went smoothly, and the cast and crew loved working with her — she treats everyone with the utmost respect and professionalism. The shoot took place during the winter so we only had eight hours of daylight. Due to Fiona’s excellent directorial skills, we shot 12-and-a-half (edited) minutes of film-quality drama in two short days of filming. I highly recommend Fiona.” — Jaro Waldeck, Master of Arts in Cinematography from FAMU Prague, member of the Czech Society of Cinematographers.
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“As a television and film producer, I was approached by Drogheda Youth Development (DYD) about developing a media production training course in conjunction with INTREO, the national training authority. Aware of Fiona’s wealth of experience in both film production and in training provision, I was delighted to secure her involvement in both the development of the training and its practical delivery at the DYD centre in Drogheda. The training was hugely successful, as evidenced by the feedback from participants, DYD and INTREO. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Fiona for any such undertaking. She is professional, knowledgeable, engaging and reliable.” — Declan Cassidy, multi-award-winning writer/director, ‘Whatever Turns You On’.
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“I feel very lucky to have been given Fiona’s name to assist me as I worked on a film script of my novel. Fiona’s approach was thorough, insightful and honest without being in any way unkind. It was clear that she read and assessed the script with a keen eye and ear, and her advice was crucial. Fiona also recommended several terrific books to help me on this, my first journey into scriptwriting. She has reviewed a further draft with equal professionalism and also had a conference call where each and every issue I had was fully addressed. I would very strongly recommend Fiona and am glad she is part of my ongoing review process.” — Fran Russell Banks, Author of ‘Blown Apart’, winner of the Irish Writers’ Novel Award 2016.
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“I am a professional screenwriter who has hired Fiona Ashe to edit two treatments and query letters for agents and production companies. She is a very talented script editor who helped guide my treatments into solid scripts. I would gladly recommend her to anyone seeking help with their work.” — Eileen McAuley, commissioned scriptwriter.
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“Fiona’s script reading service was very prompt and professional and her notes really helped smooth over the gaps in my story. Highly recommended!” — John O’Rourke, writer/post graduate BA (Hons) Film & Broadcasting, DIT.
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“I am in awe of your writing and directorial talent, Fiona. You sense the nerve, feel the raw and carve the story in a most humane way. I mostly love your Film Noir. A gift!” — Eithne Kennedy, author.
To collaborate with acclaimed director, screenwriter and script editor Fiona Ashe on a film/TV drama project, click here to contact her.