DIRECTOR | WRITER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Ariya received an MA in Dramatic Arts on a scholarship from the world-renowned Central Saint Martins. There, he polished his craft while studying the discipline of communicating with actors. Upon graduating, he was pulled into the world of photography. As a photographer, he perfected his understanding of art direction, storytelling within a frame, and painting with light, ultimately strengthening who he is as a director. His work featuring actors such as Brenda Song, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Avan Jogia has made the covers of magazines like Vulkan, Bello, and QP.

Meanwhile, he directed multiple music videos and worked as the creative director of Anona before returning to narrative film, one of which starred Never Have I Ever’s Lee Rodriguez. In 2023, his narrative short ‘Echoes of Silence’ received an honorable mention from AGBO’s ‘No Sleep ‘Til Film Fest’ Competition. Still, throughout all of this, there was a part of him searching for a way to use his art to speak on the world he left behind.

His upcoming film, ‘The Scream of the Butterfly’, does just that.