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Ash Christian, Prolific Gay Filmmaker and Founder of Cranium Entertainment, Dies at 35

Dallas native, Ash Christian was an Emmy Award-winning producer, actor, filmmaker and LGBTQ activist. He died his sleep on Friday, Aug. 13, 2020, while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was 35 years old.

Christian was a prolific filmmaker with numerous projects in various stages of production like "As Sick As They Made Us," Mayim Bialik's directorial debut starring Dustin Hoffman, Candice Bergen and Simon Helberg; "Nightfall," with Matt Bomer and Sam Worthington, directed by Addison McQuigg ("Bloodline"); and "The Sixth Reel," directed by and starring Charles Busch and co-directed by Carl Andress.

"Ash was a great friend, colleague and partner in crime. He was a champion of indie film and filmmakers and his love of the process of putting movies together was infectious. My heart goes out to his family, especially his mother. The world lost one of the good ones," said longtime friend and producing partner Anne Clements.

Christian had several new releases in the works with Clements, including "Chick Fight" with Malin Akerman, Fortune Feimster and Alec Baldwin coming out this fall and "Paper Spiders," featuring Lili Taylor, Max Casella and Peyton List.

"With Ash, work was always fun. That's the effect he had on people. I will miss my good friend dearly, as I know so many others will as well. The world has lost a talented writer/director/producer, but most importantly, a great person who had so much more life to live," said longtime friend and producing partner Jordan Yale Levine of Yale Productions.

Christian had recently worked with Levine on "After Everything" with Marisa Tomei, Gina Gershon and Jeremy Allen White, and "Burn," with Josh Hutcherson, Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Suki Waterhouse.

Christian's love for entertainment began in a little community theatre in Paris, Texas. At 14 years old he began writing and directing short films. At 16, he took off to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of being an actor. At 19, he wrote, starred and directed his first feature film, "Fat Girls," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Outstanding Emerging Talent Award at L.A. Outfest 2006. Christian was also known for several of his television roles starring in "The Good Fight," "The Good Wife," and "Law and Order."

Under his own company, Cranium Entertainment, Christian developed and produced feature films for both specialized and mainstream audiences. He went on to produce dozens of award-winning films and productions like "Hurricane Bianca," "1985," "Hello Again," "Social Animals" and "Coyote Lake."

Christian was based in Dallas, and he had lived in New York where he also had his hand in Broadway producing, including the award-winning musical, "Next to Normal."

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