It looks like Amber Heard's not letting the immense publicity created by last year's trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp get to her and is building a new life for herself.
The actress, 37, has been living quietly in Spain for the past year with her two-year-old daughter, Oonagh Paige, and in a new interview with People, her friend and former director confirmed that she's doing well.
Conor Allyn, who directed Amber in the upcoming film In the Fire, told the outlet that she had "moved on" from the tense legal battle and added: "She's living her best life in Spain with her daughter and just finding happiness in that way."
He stated that they often kept in touch and while she was doing well: "I think people carry trauma for a long time."
“Having gone through something like that on a global epic scale – you never just put that in a suitcase and stick [it] in the attic and never see it again."
Conor drew parallels between Amber's real life and her character in In the Fire, a historical drama in which she plays a psychiatrist who travels to a remote Colombian village to study and care for a local boy who the townspeople deem "possessed," and receives backlash herself.
© Getty ImagesThe filmmaker stated that her character is "a fearless truth teller who comes to this remote valley and preaches a certain set of beliefs and is not believed.
"In real life, Amber is a fearless truth teller who sticks to her own convictions no matter what horrible trouble comes of that."
Conor asserted that she felt such a strong connection to the script because she'd experienced similar levels of backlash in her own life. "She's had that public backlash. I mean, sure it hit a global apex during the televised trial.
© Getty Images"But she's been receiving a lot of public backlash since the day she filed for divorce. She's been going through that for years."
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He confirmed also that he was looking forward to collaborating on more projects with the actress, who reprised her role as Mera in the upcoming DC sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, out this December.
© Getty Images"It's really hard to make a movie, period, very hard to make an independent film," Conor said. "You want people as a part of that team who are going to be as committed as you are and who care about the work, it's not just a paycheck, it's like, 'I'm out here to prove myself. I'm out here to do something special.'
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"That's totally Amber and so I'd love to work with her on more stuff."
© Getty ImagesThe film is set to release in select theaters and on-demand on October 13 and premiered at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy back in June, which marked Amber's first public appearance since the trial.
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