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ASHLEIGH

O'SHEA

Ashleigh Sandra O'Shea was born in Welkom in the Free State on 4 July 2000, the third of four siblings.

 

O'Shea began writing her first novel 'The Legends of Gordo: The Leprechaun Camp' at the age of 10. The idea for the novel had occured over a conversation with her mother and sister. At the age of 13, she rewrote the novel into a brilliant mastepiece of a magical tale enjoyable for all ages. In 2016, her novel won the Gcina Mhlope Prize for Chilren's Literature, making her the youngest award-winning author in South Africa. She has just completed the second in the series 'The Legends of Gordo: Revenge of the Harpies' .

 

Like her sister, O'Shea enjoyed the fantastic world of books from an early age, enjoying the fantasy genre most, and an avid lover of Shakespeare. She was inspired

by Tony Abbott the author of  'The Secrets of Droon', Rick Riordan, author of 'Percy Jackson and the Olypians', and her ultimate heroin, J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter. 
 

From 2014-2015, O'Shea enjoyed hip hop dancing at Noleen Andrews School of Dance.

After leaving to pursue a career in film, she stayed with the dance school as the stage manager for their annual show.  She also enjoys music, photography, and graphic designing, having designed the BonRo Studios Website, herself, before handing it over to her older sister, Natasha Kroucamp, in November 2016, to finish her high-school studies.

 

In 2017, O'Shea helped BonRo Studios branch into a new genre: films. She has completed three university courses under schools such as the NFTS and the BFI.  Her first film, A Night At Bozzy's, got her invited to attend a two-week course in England. However, due to lack of sponsorship, she was unable to attend.
In 2018, O'Shea got accepted into Movietech Film and Television College, a learnership program offered to talented students by East Coast Media, a production company situated in Durban, South Africa. She was voted Class Representative by the class a few months into the program. Through her time in Movietech, she has produced three short films. Her first project was a documentary, Dancing with Noleen, as a group assignment. The group originally had a different concept but due to dangerous strikes, O'Shea made a calculated decision to change the concept for the safety of her crew. The team ended scoring the highest in class for their documentary. Her second practical was an advert shot for Volkswagen and O'Shea managed to get Volkswagen to sponsor her a car for the video. Her final exam, a coming-of-age drama dedicated to her younger sister, Cara-Leigh, who features in the film, won an award at the 2019 Movietech Graduation. She was valedictorian of her class and gave a speech at the graduation. A week after graduating, O'Shea landed a job on the set of Taking You Places, a short film in Cape Town as Assistant Script Supervisor and loader, and there was no stopping her for the future. Shortly after finishing Taking You Places, O'Shea was working as Script Suprivers/Continuity on the set of Rooilug, a short film shot for KykNet's Silverskermfees. The film was nominated for six awards. A week after attending the Silverskermfees, O'Shea worked on the 48 Hour Film Project Cape Town. She drew the genre fish out of water. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, they were unable to finish.

 

Often, when asked about her future goals in filmmaking she answers; 'By the time I am twenty-nine, I want six Oscars to my name. I want to be the best director the world has seen." O'Shea has recently started script-writing, to add to her filmmaking talents, working on projects close to her heart. 

She was editor and layout artist for 'Cammy the Witch' series and 'Dimpho and the Crocodile' at the age of 15 and is currently involved in the editing of her own work. In the past, she was the editor for some of her mother's work, before her mother became an editor for other local authors.
She directed and had acting rolls in both plays at the Karien Beyleveld Modelling and Drama course of 2011 at age 11. 

The play 'Lucky' was an anti-drug campaign for highschool students and the other, 'Turpie and the Hobyhahs', was a children's play to encourage acting in youth.  She has also dabbled in amateur acting in short films alongside her fellow classmates but has stated that acting is not her forte. 

Never turning down a challenge, in October 2017, O'Shea said goodbye to high-school by becoming an ambassador and bravely taking part in a beauty pageant, and placing fourth overall for Grade 12 students in aid of CANSA, an organization dedicated to helping families with cancer patients, specifically children. In 2019 O'Shea graduated from Movietech Film and Television College as one of the top students. 

Her editing and graphics design and eager spirit to help has made her the corner stone of BonRo Studios' success. 

Cell:   082-224-8125
voIP: 087-265-6191

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