Nia Ashley
About
Nia Ashley is a Brooklyn native studying English, Film and Africana Studies at Barnard College. A young veteran of New York City theatre, Nia only discovered her love of filmmaking at 17. Since then she has produced, directed, acted in and written a variety of projects: short films, commercials, new media projects for TED and a feature film: Black Swan Records, which is currently in preproduction. Nia also runs Young Gotham Arts, a non-profit arts company that produces work of young playwrights and filmmakers in New York City. The Power of Words film is titled Of The Unknown, by James Marsh and Eva Weber.
Of The Unknown
A short visual meditation, Of The Unknown is set in Hong Kong where millionaires and the ‘working poor’ live side by side in one of Asia’s wealthiest and most densely populated cities. The film explores how our notions of freedom and happiness are shaped by the place we occupy, both literally and metaphorically, in our society. What is the importance of freedom when one faces a daily struggle for survival? Is it even possible to have dreams, or to dream, if one was never given any opportunities in life?
Mandela quote: "Where poverty exists, there is not true freedom."