Amber Heard at the Taormina Film Festival in June. PHOTO:

ERNESTO RUSCIO/GETTY

Amber Heard’s In the Fire director Conor Allyn recalls how the actress always put her daughter first while making the movie.

“Amber’s such a dedicated mom,” Allyn tells PEOPLE, adding “she is really good about making the time” for her 2-year-old Oonagh Paige.

Allyn says Heard, who welcomed her daughter as a single mother in 2021, brought her little one to Italy when they filmed the 19th century-set thriller in the spring of 2022.

He quoted Heard, 37, as saying, “‘Oonagh’s coming with me. I’m going to see her during the day. Yes, I’m going to work a really hard day and I’m totally committed to that. But at lunch, Oonagh’s going to join me for an hour and [also] when I’m not shooting.”

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Amber Heard and daughter Oonah Paige in 2022. AMBER HEARD/INSTAGRAMSee Amber Heard in a Chilling Clip from Her New Thriller In the Fire (Exclusive)

Allyn says her dedication makes her stand apart from others in the industry.

“I admire it greatly, particularly in Hollywood where I think generally speaking, I don’t want to paint with a broad brush, but generally speaking, whether it’s the marriage or the kids that is often forgotten in the heat of making a movie,” he says.

Allyn, a married father himself, says he was “jealous” of the time his leading actress got to spend with her daughter.

“I find it more difficult to do that,” he says. “I’m married, have a wife. She works, but she was willing to support me while I’m chasing my dreams in Italy. She [was] here [in the U.S.] with all three kids and I couldn’t spend that kind of time [with them].”

While Heard looked after her daughter, she also looked after the cast and crew after hours. Allyn says the Aquaman actress hosted meals at her temporary housing.

“We went over to Amber’s place and she cooked dinner,” he says. “It was usually low-key because we were working very hard.” On the menu? A “very impressive” mezze platter with hummus and tapas.

Those lovely nights were needed after long hours filming the intense movie, about American psychiatrist Dr. Grace Burnham (Heard) who travels to Colombia to evaluate a troubled boy some believe to be possessed by the Devil.

Amber Heard stars in ‘In the Fire’.

COURTESY TAORMINA FILM FESTIVAL

Amber Heard Makes Her Acting Return in Intense Trailer for New Thriller ‘In the Fire’

Allyn previously told PEOPLE that Heard, whom he considers a “great friend,” is now “finding happiness” in Europe, where she moved after she largely lost her defamation trial to ex-husband Johnny Depp, 60.

“She’s living her best life in Spain with her daughter and just finding happiness in that way,” Allyn says of Heard, whose last public appearance was at the Taormina Film Festival in June for the In the Fire premiere.

Allyn, who keeps in regular touch with Heard, says she has “moved on” from the legal ordeal with Depp, but adds, “I think people carry trauma for a long time.”

In the Fire is in select theaters and available on demand Friday.