Amber Heard is in a good place more than a year after she and her ex-husband Johnny Depp faced off in a brutal defamation trial, according to a close friend.
Conor Allyn, who directed Heard in the 19th century thriller In flames in the months leading up to the court case, tells PEOPLE that the actress, 37, is doing well in Europe with her 2-year-old Oonagh Paige.
“She’s living her best life in Spain with her daughter and that’s the only way she finds happiness,” Allyn says of Heard, whose last public appearance was at the Taormina Film Festival in June for In flames premiere.
Allyn, who is in regular contact with Aquaman star, adds that Heard has “moved on” from the legal ordeal with Depp, but adds, “I think people carry trauma for a long time.”
“To go through something like that on a global epic scale – you never just put it in a coffin and put it in the attic and never see it again,” he says.
Depp, 60, who was married to Heard from 2015 to 2016, sued the ex for defamation after she wrote in 2018. The Washington Post op-ed, in which she stated that she is “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Amber Heard and Conor Allyn at the Taormina Film Festival in June.
Ernesto Ruscio/Getty
She did not name Depp in the piece, and Depp has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
During the televised trial at the Fairfax County, Va., courthouse, ugly details of their marriage were made public.
After six weeks of testimony, the jury largely ruled in Depp’s favor. Heard paid her ex $1 million in damages earlier this year (the settlement was reduced from more than $10 million), a source confirmed to PEOPLE.
Amber Heard returns to acting in intense trailer for new thriller ‘In the Fire’
After the verdict, which Heard called a “setback” for women, the actress sold her home in Yucca Valley, California for $1.1 million and left the spotlight for a quieter life in Spain with Oonagh Paige, whom she welcomed in 2021 as a single. parent.
During the trial, Heard received death threats and became the subject of cruel internet memes. “She just had to get out of the US,” a source told PEOPLE of Heard. “It felt like too much chaos.”
Allyn now says “parallels” between Heard’s real life and the character she plays In flames are “significant”, even though the events of the film are set 130 years in the past.
She plays Dr. Grace Burnham, an American psychiatrist who travels to Colombia to evaluate a boy who the priest and other locals believe is possessed by the devil. dr. Burnham is insulted by the townspeople.
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Amber Heard in ‘On Fire’.
Saban Movies
Her character is “a fearless truth-teller who comes into this remote valley and preaches a certain set of beliefs, and no one believes her,” says Allyn. “In real life, Amber is a fearless truth-teller who stands by her convictions no matter the dire odds that come with it.”
Allyn says it’s “no coincidence” that Heard “immediately felt an affinity with this character” when he read the script, which the director wrote.
Where is Amber Heard now? Everything about her private life in Spain after the trial of Johnny Depp for defamation
“She experienced such a reaction from the public. I mean, it must have reached a global peak during the televised trial. But from the day she filed for divorce, she encountered fierce reactions from the public. He’s been going through it for years.”
The director says that working with Heard was a “wonderful experience” because she was so committed and that they are already discussing future collaborations.
“It’s really hard to make a movie, period, it’s really hard to make an independent movie,” he says. “You want people as part of that team who are going to be as committed as you are and who care about the job, it’s not just a paycheck, it’s like, ‘I’m here to prove myself. I’m here to do something special.’ It’s totally Amber so I’d love to work with her on more stuff.”
In flames is in select theaters and available on demand on Fridays.
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Source: HIS Education