MEET THE CREW

Producer

Leah Demers
Leah Demers is a senior at UMass Amherst. She is a member of the Commonwealth Honors College and is studying communication and film studies. As a coffee enthusiast, she is thrilled to be a producer on “The Future of Coffee”. When Leah is not drinking coffee, she enjoys dancing, reading, and baking.

Cinematographer

Ryan Haideri
Hi there! My name is Ryan Haideri. I am a senior Environmental Science and Film Studies double major. My hobbies are watching soccer(Barcelona), watching movies, and playing pickleball! I am looking to make in the film industry as well as work in documentary production, specifically on wild life and other natural sciences. I’m honored and excited to be working on this project because coffee is so crucial to so many people and we need to spread more awareness on the future of it!

Cinematographer

Esther Yen
Hi! My name is Esther Yen and I’m a UMass Amherst senior studying Spanish and Communications. Some of my hobbies include people-watching (and sometimes making documentaries about it), traveling, making art, and creating music. Next year I’ll be living in Spain where I’m excited to take the experience I have gleaned from this documentary into my work abroad. I’m super excited to be involved in film research with such an awesome crew about a wonderful and important topic, that is, the Future of Coffee!

Editor & Co-Writer

Mariana Freitas
Hey! My name is Mariana Freitas, and I am a senior at UMass double majoring in Entertainment Management and Communication. I’ve loved film, reading, theater, musicals, and all sorts of storytelling since I can remember, which is what led me to choose this path. I’m excited to be a part of the project during my last semester of school, before hopefully starting my career in event management or film. A fun fact about me is that I grew up in Brazil.

Photographer & Social Media Manager

Portteia Davidson
Portteia is a Junior at UMass majoring in Psychology. Outside working on The Future of Coffee Film, she is a research assistant for the Self-Regulation, Emotion, & Early Development Lab, the UMass Fashion Organization’s Head of Photography, the University Programming Council’s Photography Event Coordinator, and the photographer/videographer for the alternative band The Baxbys. She enjoys photography, traveling, and surrounding herself with music. She is interested in going to graduate school to become a therapist and psychometrician while also continuing concert and project-based photography in her free time.

Sound Recordist & Music

Ryan Gies
I am a junior Entertainment Industry Leadership major pursuing a career in intellectual property law. I am one of the audio engineers of the film, principally focusing on composition, engineering, and production audio. Outside of school, I write my own music, and play synthesizer in The Upstairs District, and sing in an a cappella group. I love to read (particularly novels) and I spend as much time as I can in the kitchen creating new recipes.

Sound Recordist

Madison McGrath
My name is Madison and I’m a junior Communication major and Business minor! I’m interested in sound and music in film. In my free time, I like to take walks, bake, and listen to music. I hope to work in the film or media industry after graduating college.

Graphic Artist & Key Art Designer

Rianna Jakson
Hello! My name is Rianna and I’m a Junior at UMass Amherst studying Film Studies & Film Promotion through the BDIC program. I love pouring myself into the promotional material of film and television. It’s incredibly exciting to me to pick apart how the narrative of the movie can be rewrapped in the title sequence in such unique styles – anywhere from between a few frames to a minute! In my pastime I create alternative film posters and trailers with my favorite media for myself with different themes and what-if styles, drawing from the visual comedy of Edgar Wright to the thrill of Hitchcock and 2000s nostalgia. I have a wide dexterity for synthesizing language, history, music theory and color to embody the complex and evolving emotions in my stories as a voice actor, editor and colorist.

Animation

Lea Shi
Lea is currently double majoring in Computer Science and Studio Art as a junior at UMass. In addition to her academic pursuits, Lea has a variety of hobbies, including watching anime and drawing. She enjoys exploring different art styles and mediums and is always looking for new sources of inspiration. She is particularly interested in the intersection of art and technology and is excited to explore new ways of blending the two in her future work.