Amber Heard Calls Her Return to the Spotlight 1 Year After Johnny Depp Trial ‘Unforgettable’

Amber Heard has returned to the spotlight — and social media.

On Friday, the actress shared a photo of herself smiling while onstage at the 69th Taormina Film Festival in Italy, which she attended last weekend to promote her movie In the Fire.

The appearance was Heard’s first at a film festival since her contentious defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, which transpired from April 11 through June 1, 2022.

“Thank you for such an incredibly warm reception at the Taormina Film festival for my latest movie In the Fire. It was an unforgettable weekend. #InTheFire,” Heard, 37, captioned the post, which was her first on Instagram since December 2022.

“Yes. There she is ✨,” read a comment from Luca Calvani, who costars with Heard in the thriller and also appeared at the festival alongside Heard and their director, Conor Allyn.

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Heard faced off against Depp, 60, last spring in a defamation trial the Edward Scissorhands actor brought against her, in which a seven-person jury reached a verdict that largely sided with Depp, though Heard won one of her three counterclaims.

Speaking with Deadline on Saturday at the premiere of In the Fire, Allyn said he’s “so happy” that while Heard “went through something so awful,” the experience “didn’t change her as a person.”

“She’s still the shining light … and to go through something that terrible and be able to come out the other side and be whole, well, I can’t imagine it,” the director added.

Calvani had similar words for the actress, telling Deadline, “Anyone that suffers that sort of ordeal and is able to overcome it with grace, no matter what side you’re on, no matter what you believe or which social media [outlet] you plug into or whatever your hashtags are, you have to give credit for the incredible journey this woman has been through, and she can teach us all a couple of things as far as resilience and courage.”

Allyn also spoke to PEOPLE at the Italy-based festival, where he said Heard “has an incredibly bright future ahead” and spoke about how impressed he was with her performance in his thriller.

“I think In the Fire showcases her talents as an actor. I know this is something she is very proud of and it’s something we are very excited to release to the public,” he added. “I think it will be a great opportunity for her to have something beyond the trial and stuff to talk about and to be a platform for a hell of a comeback.”

Additionally, Allyn told PEOPLE that he can envision the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom actress directing films one day.

“As a director, I never look for more competition than there already is. But Amber absolutely has the ability and the intelligence and the charisma to direct or to write if she wants to,” he said.