MEET   THE   TEAM

RYAN   S.  PORUSH
Director / PRODUCER

Ryan S. Porush is a documentary filmmaker and writer based in Los Angeles. He has produced, filmed and edited documentaries and short films around the world, with an emphasis in telling longform, intimate character driven stories that highlight communities in transition. He received a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and earned a Master’s in documentary journalism from New York University. Ryan has collaborated with Mandalay Sports Media, VICE, Nat Geo and New York Mag. Ryan founded FAR BETWEEN PICTURES in 2017.

Ryan’s award-winning first film, TWO HUNDRED PERCENT (2016), about one young man’s journey to Israel to reunite with his forgotten father 15 years after a tragic accident, won first place documentary at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival and was acquired by Discover Films for distribution. Ryan’s first feature documentary film, THE PASSENGERS (2020), tells the story of the final community of Ethiopian Jews and its collective struggle to immigrate to Israel. The film recently won the Human Rights Jury Prize at the 2020 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Ryan served as Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Co-Editor. It is currently in negotiations for distribution.

SHARHONDA BOSSIER
PRODUCER

Sharhonda is the Deputy Director at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). In her current role, Sharhonda focuses on elevating talented Black and Latinx leaders and supporting them to thrive in high-level education leadership roles. Prior to joining EdLoC, Sharhonda advised city-based philanthropic education organizations on their investments in public schools and education advocacy efforts. In addition to her core advising work, Sharhonda utilized her experience launching and leading a multi-state education engagement and advocacy organization to help leaders develop the skills and capacity to engage much more effectively with community stakeholders. Sharhonda grew up in Watts and is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Sharhonda started her career in education as a public school teacher and brings years of grassroots organizing and activism expertise as well as rich legislative and electoral campaign experience in both volunteer and leadership capacities to her work. Sharhonda's story of activism and connection to Watts in the context of 2020's Black Lives Matter protests were recently profiled on an episode of The Daily podcast from NY Times.

Marjan  Riazi
Associate PRODUCER

Marjan Riazi – Associate Producer
Marjan is the Production and Impact Coordinator at Level Forward. She’s a visual journalist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received a Master’s in News and Documentary Film Production from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara, where she also taught alcohol and drug prevention education. Marjan has presented regionally and nationally on prevention programs addressing the intersection of substance use, interpersonal violence, mental health, the LGBTQ community and college student success. Dedicated to the development and understanding of inclusive and progressive educational systems, she has developed educational materials across age groups, school types and media platforms in hopes of engaging youth and millennial students. Marjan was a Muslim Women in the Media Fellow, Journalism in the Era of Disinformation Fellow. She recently produced her first documentary, High Hopes, which explores racial inequity in the modern cannabis industry.

scott salas
co-director of cinematography

Scott Salas – Co-Director of Cinematography
Scott is a film director and cinematographer. He was born and raised in Malibu, California and studied film at Pepperdine University. The son to Cuban parents, Scott has always been interested in capturing stories about identity and place. He currently works as a short film, documentary and commercial director, writer and cinematographer in LA. His first documentary film, The Cuban Dream, about his brother’s attempt to become the first half-American baseball player to play professionally in Cuba in several decades, is currently in post-production.