Ashlea Wessel is a writer and director hailing from Toronto, Canada. Wessel’s work uses elements of horror, sci-fi and fantasy as a framework to explore themes of social, political and personal upheaval. She tells her stories using an arresting visual style that couples stark realism with a phantasmagoric flair. Ashlea’s first two short films INK and TiCK screened at over 50 festivals around the globe including Fantasia, Frightfest, Cinequest and Toronto After Dark. Her second short, Daughter of Babel is making its festival rounds.
In 2019, Ashlea was the recipient of a WIFT Vancouver From Our Dark Side award, and participated in the Frontières Shorts to Features pitch session where she pitched the feature version of TiCK. She took part in the 2019 WIDC Career Advancement Module in Toronto where she workshopped her feature-in-development Perpetua. Ashlea is developing several projects, including the release of her fourth short, Weirdo.