director: ari mei-dan
producers: ari mei-dan & alex magnuson
director of photography: alex magnuson
editor: alex magnuson
colorist: ari mei-dan
a short interview documentary on lennie naperotić, a singer-songwriter from croatia. lennie studies music at berklee college of music, and discusses her experiences as an immigrant pursuing a creative career across the world.
this was made for my vm 242 (intro to documentary production) class at emerson college, with my partner alex magnuson.

my role: director + producer + colorist

shot in: october 2024.

director, writer, colorist: ari mei-dan
1st assistant director: anushka chilka
2nd assistant director: el glassman
logistics executive producer: hollie raposo
technical executive producer: max domel
associate producer: el glassman
director of photography: michael latshaw
1st assistant camera: lily farcy
2nd assistant camera: adam goddard
gaffer: noor al-sonbaty
grip: nick behson
sound recordist: steven navarro
boom op: luke bryan
script supervisor: rowan goho
intimacy coordinator: grace atkin
makeup artist: star liao
production designer: elliott thyne
production assistant: kezia mawikere
lead editor: sandra sheedy
1st assistant editor: lew billings
2nd assistant editor: olivia altiok
composer: steven weiss
behind-the-scenes: lou magliano and nick behson
CAST
zennah perez: mena alayan
matteo desouza: gabe sand
rowen baker: benjamin kilpatrick
jake varga-bates: brent schwartz
theo barlowe: brian rosas
the interviewer: kai smith

due to the nature of submitting films to festivals and such, i cannot share this film publicly yet!

my role: director + writer + colorist

shot in: late march and early april 2025

director, writer: nattanan jaraschatrkaew
assistant directors: alani aleli and kylie gifis
script supervisor: sofia nanji
executive producers: aadi sinha and nattanan jaraschatrkaew
producer: thomas hogan
associate producers: caroline chu, kara powell, and riley oluwu
director of photography: aris liang
assistant camera: brady zielinski

gaffer: claire smith
grips: max domel and jonathan chin
sound recordist and boom op: jay rowell

production designer: grey cunningham
costumer designer: kali tapper
art team: elissa lowry and olivia bortolon

lead editor: riley oluwu
assistant editor: caroline chu
sound designer: kendall ramsay
colorist: ari mei-dan
composer: kaidan larson
CAST
dao: saya elisofon
ghost: shaoliang “edison” li
harley: gabe sand
joan: jordan elias

due to the nature of submitting films to festivals and such, i cannot share this film publicly yet!

my role: colorist

shot in: november 2024

written, directed, and edited by ari mei-dan.
lex hedman as talia.
jack peloquin as august.
filmed in burlington, vermont.
music used;
- summer wine by nancy sinatra & lee hazlewood.
- daisy daisy by sea girls.
- radio by paolo nutini.
this film was my first ever short film! it was made as the final project for my fts 2655 (production foundations) course at the university of vermont.
the idea for a beach-themed summer romance was something long in the works for me — i’ve been wanting to further explore the ideas of love in a joyful yet fleeting context.
the filming conditions for this short were far from perfect! we had a limited amount of time to film, some actors fell through, and i didn’t have all of the equipment i needed (such as different microphones or better camera set-ups). regardless, i’m still happy with how it turned out!

my roles: director + writer + dp + editor

shot in: april 2024

can’t wait for perfect by bob reynolds, as performed by barn cat.
recorded & edited by ari mei-dan.
saxophone — matt cincotta.
guitar — luca medina-downs.
bass — tom gladstone.
piano — matt weinstein.
drums — zach brownstein.

light club lamp shop, burlington vt — 04/20/24

superstition by stevie wonder, as performed by comatose kids.
recorded & edited by ari mei-dan.
vocals & guitar — sawyer bouley.
piano — yann calderwood.
bass — kai pasciak.
drums — tobey siegel.

a random basement, burlington vt — 03/01/24.

“OUT OF THE LOOP” (16mm SHORT) | colorist

dir. brady zielinski. expected release: spring 2025.

“THE WOMEN I KNOW” (DOCUMENTARY) | colorist

dir. caleigh mccrink. expected release: spring 2026.

FILMS IN THE WORKS