Meet This Film Director Disguised As a Finance Director
Filmmaker David Ash juggles his career, family life and a drive to make feature films.
It's no surprise that artists have day jobs to pay their bills; but you might be astounded by filmmaker David Ash, who has a full time job as a finance director at the large, multi-national company Ecolab. David's films, Love: A Documentary, 2021 and Twin Cities don't come off as the work of a cubicle-dwelling office drone. The humor, inventiveness, and emotionally charged plots definitely come from the mind of a creator.
Twin Cities, as well as its prequel 2021, were purchased by independent film distributor Summer Hill Films and are available on Amazon. Twin Cities won five "Best of Fest" awards out of the nine festivals where it screened and was one of five independent films nominated for the 2017 Screencritix Award for Best Feature Film.
David's latest film, Twin Cities, examines the marriage between Emily and John, as they head toward a mutual meltdown. John is given a terminal diagnosis that forces him to reassess his life as he attempts to save his marriage - before it's too late. Inner peace, however, proves to be elusive; the marriage might be too far gone, and John's life may not be what it seems. For more information on the film, visit the website.
David has recently been busy creating a television series loosely based on his film Twin Cities. He has already written the eight one-hour episodes of the first season and is currently in pre-production on the pilot, which will be filmed here later this year. This project won the 2019 Minnesota State Arts Board "Artist Initiative" grant, which will help fund the production of the pilot. The produced pilot will then be used to sell the series to premium cable channels and streaming services such as HBO, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.
David Ash is dedicated to making films and television outside of the mainstream Hollywood system. The films he creates are never going to be green-lit with large budgets, and we should be grateful for that. In this day and age, it's crucial that independent voices continue to create unique, independent art.
Special Thanks: Charlie McCarron
Additional Media: David Ash
Minnesota Music: Beth Albertson, J. Briozo
Production Team: David Roth, Matt Mead, Brennan Vance, Joe Demko, Skip Davis
This story is made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
