Andi Avery was born in New York, where they learned to give their unvarnished opinion on just about everything. After a promising childhood defined by an incorrigible book habit, and 4 years in an intensive acting and directing program, they dropped out of an all-girls private college after 8 months. Andi spent the next decade trying to assuage their guilt by obtaining as many odd certifications as possible as they tried to find their niche. The yoga teacher-cum-sommelier-cum-wildlife veterinary technician-cum-sex worker (sure, you can add a rim shot in there if you like)-cum-stuntperson finally pulled their shit together in 2015 when they wrote their first film script. Leaving Charlie was shot in 2016 by a crew of 40 women & non-binary individuals. The narrative short has made rounds on the festival circuit, landing Andi a modest handful of awards. Most importantly, it finally allowed them to utter the only statement that got a bigger eye-roll from Mom & Dad than their job as a stripper:
“…but what I really want to do, is be an artist.”
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Andi’s narrative directing credits include Leaving Charlie and 80/20, both based on their experiences as a queer person and sex worker, and both shot by a crew of solely women and non-binary folks. Their most recent short film, Mishpucha, was awarded the Black Family Film Prize in 2023 and is currently in post-production. Andi’s film work has been exhibited at Atlanta Film Festival, Nitehawk Cinema, and London International Film Festival, among others.
Andi’s most recent feature script, Eulogy, is currently in development after having been a finalist or achieved honorable mention from Austin Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Initiative, and Gothamite Film Festival, among others. They also serve as a writer and editor for Analog Cookbook, a celluloid film journal published by UNCW Press. Concurrently with their narrative film work, Andi has directed several music videos, including an experimental and collaborative film piece for the band Death Valley Girls.
Andi is a Directorial MFA candidate at the Kanbar Film Institute at NYU Tisch, in their last year of study. They reside in New York City with one partner, two cats, and four hundred rolls of film that are patiently waiting to be developed in the bathtub darkroom.
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