Director Ava Lowrey is a current senior at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts studying documentary production. Since 2005, at age 15, Ava has been using multimedia to connect with a larger audience. As creator of PeaceTakesCourage.com, millions have viewed Ava’s work and she has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, CNN, and more. At NYU, Ava continues to pursue documentary production, and recently completed several short documentaries. Most recently, she completed an internship with ABC News’ long-form documentary department, where she worked on a new medical documentary series for the network. In addition, she continues to pursue editing both documentary and narrative films, having just finished editing a short documentary about a family’s marina and shrimping business in Louisiana following the BP oil crisis.

        Currently, she is in post-production of her senior thesis project, Fred: The Town Dog. In  1993 a dirty and disheveled dog walked into the tiny town of Rockford, Alabama, where he was nursed to health, cleaned, and adopted by the town, becoming “Fred” – the town dog. Fred is a film about a struggling small town and its adoption of a new friend, exploring his relationships and the effect he had on both individuals and the community as a whole. As a native of Alexander City, Alabama, only 30 minutes from Rockford, Alabama, this project is very personal to Ava and she is excited to share part of her southern roots with audiences. You can view more information about the project at www.FredTheTownDog.com