American Woman

Matison LeBlanc and Ashley Wehrs are longtime creative collaborators whose partnership was formed while studying together at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Over the years, the two have worked together across multiple short films and creative projects, developing a shared storytelling language rooted in character-driven narratives, dark humor, and explorations of identity and womanhood. Their collaboration deepened through a series of film and screenwriting courses at SCAD, particularly a horror genre class that ultimately sparked the creation of American Woman.

Matison LeBlanc is a Louisiana-born filmmaker whose work explores regional identity, womanhood, and inherited social systems. Influenced by her upbringing in South Louisiana and a multidisciplinary background in painting, theatre, dance, and writing, her storytelling is rooted in atmosphere and psychologically driven narratives. She is a first-generation college graduate of SCAD, where she wrote and directed five short films. Her debut feature, Ada and the Doc, expands on a proof-of-concept short inspired by the true story of the first woman executed by the state of Louisiana, which screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals including Festival de Cannes. Her work has been recognized by The Black List, the Sundance Institute, the Writers Guild Initiative, and Stowe Story Labs, and she has sharpened her leadership and communication skills on professional productions for Amazon MGM, AMC, A&E, and the NFL.

Ashley Wehrs is an Atlanta-based writer and producer whose work blends comedy with darker subject matter through a sharp satirical lens, often centering female and LGBTQ+ perspectives. Ashley’s introduction to the world of being a writer-producer started with her LGBTQ+ horror comedy short “For Jamie”, and continued into her first experience co-directing “American Woman." In addition to writing multiple short films, a children’s animated mini-series, and the feature screenplay Lupercalia, Ashley has written commercials for brands including The Coca-Cola Company and Capital One, while also crafting branching narratives for tabletop and video game companies. Her production experience includes more than 14 continuity department credits as a script supervisor.

Together, Matison and Ashley bring a collaborative approach that merges satire, horror, and character-focused storytelling, creating films that examine the systems shaping women’s lives while balancing unsettling subject matter with sharp humor and atmospheric tension.