"A Place For Ashes" is a short indie drama and coming-of-age film by Brianne Neira, Melissa Ingle, and Ian White. It all started at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. We were frustrated that our final semester of college was cut short and felt aimless in isolation, as we had to pause our creative thesis projects. We decided to combine our talents and create a short film. After almost 3 years, our film is ready for its festival run, and there is even more on the horizon. We are in the process of forming our production company, Spiral Films, and are proud to present "A Place For Ashes" as its first project.

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     Brianne Neira (they/she) is a queer filmmaker based in Queens, NY. Brianne earned their BFA in Media Arts Production from Emerson College in 2020 and specializes in video editing and directing. Brianne currently works at ABC News as a digitizer and is in training to become an Assistant Editor, while also taking on narrative freelance projects. Most recently, Brianne edited a short feminist horror called "Rotten Meat," which premiered at the Angelika East in NYC. Brianne is passionate about increasing the representation of women and queer people in the industry, something that was important to them while creating this movie and forming Spiral Films. Outside of film production, Brianne loves to cook, paint, and play with her cat Bean. You can find Brianne's portfolio at brianneneira.com.

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     Ian White (He/They) is an actor, musician, and writer based in Queens, NY. After graduating with a degree in Theater and Performance from Emerson College, they focused on broadening their artistic horizons beyond acting. Ian’s creative focuses right now are producing music for artists, short films, and video games, as well as finding rewarding acting projects to contribute to. Ian’s other hobbies include writing, music or otherwise, playing video games, and running Dungeons and Dragons with his friends or professionally at the game store, Last Place on Earth in Brooklyn! They’re looking forward to continuing their creative journey with Spiral Productions.

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     Melissa Ingle (she/her/hers) is a Brooklyn-based Queer Director, Podcaster, and Producer. Onstage she has directed "Ranked Choice Dating" (?!: Festival), "Offloading" (NOW Festival), "According to This…” (SQUARE1), and "Shakespeare Translate: Romeo & Juliet" (Doghouse Ensemble Theatre). During the Pandemic, she focused on keeping original storytelling accessible by pivoting her skills to podcasting and film. She is incredibly excited to present "A Place For Ashes" as her debut film. She also is looking forward to premiering the second season of her podcast LGBTDnD, a new dungeons and dragons adventure with an LGBTQIA+ cast.