Asiel Norton was born in a small cabin on Kneeland Mountain in an isolated section of the American Northwest. With no television, limited electricity and water attained from a nearby stream, his family tended sheep, chickens and rabbits. Having no television, his father would take him to the local university a distance away to watch revivals of classic films, giving birth to a life-long passion for movies. Norton attended the Brooks Institute of Photography, and has worked as a fine arts photographer. In 2004 he graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Redland, premiered in 2009 and traveled the film festival circuit extensively. In 2009, Norton was included in Filmmaker Magazine as one of the– 25 New Faces of Independent Film, and was a 2010 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominee. Redland received a limited theatrical release in the spring of 2011. In the fall of 2012 he completed production on his second feature film Orion, starring David Arquette, Lily Cole and Goran Kostic. The project is currently in post production.