About Ryan Piers
Bio
Ryan Piers Williams is a filmmaker, artist and activist. Williams was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Williams wrote and directed the feature film,The Dry Land, which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition. The Dry Landfollows a U.S. soldier returning home from war as he struggles to reconcile his experiences abroad with the life and family he left in Texas. The Dry Landstars Ryan O’nan, America Ferrera, Melissa Leo, Wilmer Valderrama and Jason Ritter. The Dry Land won the Grand Jury Prize at the Dallas International Film Festival, the Best International Feature Award at the 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival, a Voice Award, and was released theatrically and digitally. Williams wrote, directed, produced, and stars in his second feature film, X/Y, alongside America Ferrera, Melonie Diaz, Common, Amber Tamblyn, David Harbour and Dree Hemingway. X/Y, a drama that looks at the complicated love lives of a group of friends in New York City, premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and was released in 2015. In 2016 Williams Co-Founded Harness alongside America Ferrera and Wilmer Valderrama. Harness connects communities through conversation to inspire action and power change.