Award-Winning Filmmaker Ashley Versher's 'We Used To Be' Selected At Oscar-Qualifying BronzeLens Film Festival
Award-winning filmmaker, actor, writer, and producer Ashley Versher is continuing the momentum of her filmmaking career defined by emotionally resonant stories about friendship, identity, and the complexity of Black women’s lives.
Off the high of world premiering at the LA Shorts International Film Festival, the film has also been selected for the Oscar-qualifying BronzeLens Film Festival and was named a Semi-Finalist at the BAFTA-qualifying Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, further building on the success of Versher’s directorial debut, Brief Exchanges, which screened at 14 film festivals and earned five awards.
While audiences increasingly recognize Versher for her acting work—including Straw opposite Taraji P. Henson and Teyana Taylor, Beauty in Black, This Is Me...Now: A Love Story, Abbott Elementary, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—she is simultaneously building an impressive body of work behind the camera. Her films reflect the same emotional authenticity that has distinguished her performances.
Written and directed by Versher, We Used To Be follows three lifelong friends whose carefully maintained relationships are tested when an unexpected reunion forces them to confront grief, jealousy, and long-buried truths. The film explores the enduring bonds between women and asks what it takes to repair relationships that have quietly unraveled over time.
“Some of the longest and most defining relationships in our lives are our friendships, yet we don’t often see them explored with the same depth as romantic relationships,” said Ashley Versher, writer and director of We Used To Be. “I wanted to tell a story that honors those friendships, the joy they bring, the ways they shape us, and the courage it sometimes takes to reconnect with some of the people we love most.”
The film stars Kris Sidberry (I Wanna Dance with Somebody), Tristan Cunningham (Reasonable Doubt), and Joy Brunson (This Is Us), with cinematography by Rayana Rasamee, an American-Thai cinematographer and AFI Conservatory graduate whose work has screened at AFI Fest, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and the Cannes Marché du Film.
We Used To Be was produced by Little Black Girl From The Bay Productions, the independent production company founded by Versher to create original films celebrating the richness and complexity of Black womanhood while expanding opportunities for historically underrepresented filmmakers.
Through its Lifting As We Climb initiative, the company partners with organizations including Made In Her Image to provide paid on-set experience and professional mentorship for emerging women, LGBTQ+, and non-binary filmmakers of color.
For Versher, the work behind the camera extends beyond storytelling.
“Creating meaningful stories is only part of the work,” Versher said. “I’m equally passionate about creating opportunities for other artists. My hope is that every project we make opens another door for talented filmmakers who deserve to be seen, supported, and given the chance to tell their own stories.”