human stories, artfully told

RAVA Films is a New York-based, full-service production company and creative agency that illuminates real life stories through artful filmmaking. Since 2011, RAVA has been entrusted by networks, institutions, and brands to engage their audiences by creating captivating videos and films that activate the imagination and translate complex ideas into relatable and memorable  audiovisual forms. Our work spans narrative and documentary film, television, digital series, and branded content, with an emphasis on the arts, culture and nonprofit sectors.

Led by international, husband-and-wife filmmaking duo Ava Wiland and Rafael Salazar from Chile and Spain, respectively, RAVA Films is a fully bilingual team (English & Spanish), and has an experienced core team that anchors an extensive family of talented collaborators. Our global connections have allowed us to produce shoots in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as across the continental United States. We pride ourselves in mastering all phases of the cinematic process, from concept ideation, to production, shooting, editing, and finishing. Whether developing a video advertising campaign to promote your brand, a dynamic digital series to attract and engage viewers, or a mesmerizing standalone piece to tell a story that begs to be told, we bring the same story-driven approach and aesthetic excellence to all of our work.

TEAM

Ava Wiland - Founder, Director-Producer

ava [at] ravafilms.com

Ava is the creative producer, co-director, and co-founder of RAVA Films. Born in New York, and raised in Santiago, Chile, Ava’s  international upbringing and travels strongly influence her work ethic and creative energy. Ava brings a balance of technical know-how and aesthetic innovation to the projects she spearheads. She is best known for producing shorts and documentary series celebrating contemporary artists, including Art in the Twenty First Century (aired on PBS), the Webby-nominated series New York Close Up, FIELDWORKS, and smARTpower (supported by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs). Ava creative produces and manages all of RAVA’s stories and takes the lead when it comes to budgets, schedules, and complex production logistics. In 2016 and 2017, the US Department of State tapped Ava as a “Film Envoy” to Ethiopia and Panama through the American Film Showcase cultural diplomacy program. 

Rafael Salazar -Founder, Director

rafa[at]ravafilms.com

Rafa is a director, cinematographer, editor, and the co-founder of RAVA Films.

In 2011 he channeled his experience as video journalist into his first short film “Camilo” (2011, 16 min) which was selected to festivals such as Urbanworld Film Fest, Gasparilla International Film Festival and London Latin American Film Festival. For the last 9 years Rafa’s work has orbited the art world, exploring the creative process and struggles of emerging artists through the Webby-nominated web series New York Close Up for Art21, and showcasing how art becomes a tool for social transformation through the web series FIELDWORKS, in collaboration with the socially-engaged arts non-profit A Blade of Grass.

His latest short film brings together his two passions: art and narrative films. “Unfinished, 2017 (Mixed Media)” (2017, 17 min) captures the critical but commonplace experience of an artist who has to confront the fear of no longer making art. Unfinished was selected in numerous internationally-recognized film festivals including Palm Springs ShortFest and the Miami and Edinburgh International Film Festivals.

Russell Yaffe - Development Producer & Editor

russell[at]ravafilms.com

Russell is an editor at RAVA Films. Born in Boston and raised in Maryland, he has worked as an editor on the HBO Sports documentary Student Athlete and independent feature films The Sisterhood of Night and Here One Minute. He edited Sam Messer's animated short "Denis the Pirate," which played at the New York Film Festival and was exhibited at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, and he has edited numerous videos for Buzzfeed. As a director, Russell's short films and music videos have screened around the world, including at the Austin, Atlanta, and Cinequest Film Festivals. Russell is a founding member of filmmaking collective ridge&clark. He holds a degree from Northwestern University and studied at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. He has been working with RAVA Films since 2018.