Toni Crey ( Antonia "Toni"  Pezone) is an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. She was born in Englewood, New Jersey, and has worked in narrative film, documentary, and television across multiple production roles. She is currently working on a novel, "The M Manifesto", and "Ozone Avenue", a screenplay and novel. Both works focus on romance, elements of witchcraft, and self-discovery. "Ozone Avenue" was optioned while Ms. Crey was represented by SaritaChoi of Shapiro-Litchman Literary Agency.

 

Early life and education

Ms. Crey graduated with honors from Ramapo Regional High School and received a scholarship from the Pauline R. Ross Memorial Foundation of Ramapo Indian Hills Education of New Jersey. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Richard Stockton University. Her photography work was installed in the university’s permanent art collection during  Stockton University Visual Arts Alumni Works - Triennial.

 

Ms. Crey continued her visual arts training at the Art Students League of New York and the School of Visual Arts, while interning at the Image Factory in New York City. Crey later graduated from New York University’s Graduate Film & Television program, receiving a Tisch School of the Arts scholarship and a Helena Rubinstein Foundation Award for Women.

 

Film work

"Rest Stop", Ms. Crey’s NYU thesis short film,  premiered on A&E’s Short Stories.

The film won Best Short at the San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Mill Valley Film Festivals. It was screened at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and was an official selection of the Atlanta Film Festival. Rest Stop was broadcast internationally across Europe and was digitally restored for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

"Her Life Choice" is a film set in post-World War II that explores one woman's struggle with her faith and reproductive choices when faced with a potentially fatal pregnancy. A personal memoir it portrays the period when women began to question their reproductive rights, particularly after the Catholic Church condemned contraception. It has been featured in various international film festivals and is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video. Toni is now working with "Catholics For Choice" to promote a conversation about a greater understanding between the faith and choice communities in present-day society.