Capabilities

Full-service Film/Video Production
Creative Direction
Story Consulting
Content Strategy
Distribution

Clients

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
American Institute of Architects
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 
Smithsonian Institution
PBS
Hyundai
Guggenheim
Art21
Kickstarter
Hauser & Wirth
WNET
TATE
National Gallery of Art
Artsy
Whitney Museum of American Art
Auschwitz Institute for Peace
and Reconciliation
Studio Museum in Harlem 
American Academy in Rome
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
ARTE 
SKY Arts
David Zwirner Gallery 
Christie's
Lehmann Maupin 
Brooklyn Museum
U.S. Department of State,
Art in Embassies Program
Skowhegan School of Painting
& Sculpture
Glenstone Museum
Storm King Art Center
The Bronx Museum
A Blade of Grass

Festivals & Press

Edinburgh International Film Festival
Palm Springs ShortFest
Rooftop Film Festival
NY Emmys (Nomination)
Vimeo Staff Pick
Nowness Picks
Psyche
Aeon
Art Fifa
Booooooom TV
Document
Nowness
Los Angeles Times
Colossal
New Yorker
The Brooklyn Rail
Shorty Awards
Webby Awards
Vice
Lo schermo dell'arte

Human Stories,

Artfully Told

Our studio in Dumbo, NY. Come visit us!

Rava Films is a creative studio and production company crafting films, video and multimedia content bridging storytelling and creative inquiry. Our approach is research-based, collaborative, and story-driven. 

With over 10 years of experience capturing some of the leading creative minds of our generation, RAVA’s storytelling takes its inspiration from the creative process of artists, and expands it to include stories from across disciplines, industries, and life experiences. 

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.

Ava Wiland

Founder, Director-Producer

For over a decade, Ava has produced award-winning shorts and documentary series under the moniker Rava Films, collaborating with leading brands, institutions, and networks in the arts and culture sectors. Focused on aligning storytelling with institutional missions, Ava spearheads all of Rava’s projects, bringing a sense of curiosity, rigor and nuance to every phase of the production process. She is most excited to smudge the boundaries of narrative and documentary to transcend conventional truths about the creative process. She has twice served as a "Film Ambassador" for the American Film Showcase, the United States' flagship international film diplomacy program.

Rafael Salazar

Founder, Director

Rafa is a Spanish filmmaker based in Brooklyn and the co-founder of Rava Films. For the past decade, his work has focused on exploring the intersection between art and storytelling, blending documentary and fiction. This distinctive approach is evident in acclaimed films like An Artist Walks into a Bar (Vimeo Staff Pick) and Unfinished, 2017 (Mixed Media), which was selected at the Miami Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, and Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Rafael’s work extends to creating documentary series and shorts for prestigious institutions such as the National Gallery of Art, The Met, Smithsonian Institution, the Whitney Museum, and MoMA. Additionally, he has directed numerous short films and two episodes for the renowned documentary series Art21.

Danielle Davis

Producer

Danielle is a creative producer based in Brooklyn. She produces, directs and assists in the edit for Rava films. After six years in the corporate world, Danielle began her film career while living in London, drawing on her love of storytelling and background in business to produce long-form docs for television (Netflix, Channel 4 UK, VICE TV, Peacock, Oxygen). She taught herself to edit and shoot, continuing to hone her craft, notably directing the short doc A Dad Is Born (DC Shorts International Film Festival), creating digital content for UNICEF and becoming a regular contributor of video journalism to Fortune Magazine. Danielle is a social being to her core; she loves to follow her goosebumps in the edit.

Russell Yaffe

Development Producer & Editor

Russell is Head of Post Production at Rava Films and has edited a variety of projects for the company since 2018. Born in Boston and raised in Maryland, his work as a filmmaker and editor has screened on networks from HBO to PBS and at film festivals across the country and the globe, including the Austin, Atlanta, and New York Film Festivals. He has also edited numerous digital videos for Buzzfeed and worked as a producer and editor on multiple independent feature films. Russell holds a degree from Northwestern University, studied at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires, and completed a yearlong teaching fellowship in Madrid. Outside of filmmaking, he writes songs and short stories, and he ran a weeklong nonprofit basketball camp in his hometown for 20 years. Russell lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two young sons.