Ryan Philander

Ryan is an American of South African and Irish descent. He grew up in a bi-racial household, the third of four children. His parents worked in the field of psychiatry and law. He was drawn to sciences, writing, and humanities when athletics drew him to the west coast. He played soccer for Chapman University, attended film school, and excelled in screenwriting, cinematography, editing, audio design, and directing.

After graduation, Ryan taught at the New York Film Academy (Universal Studios branch). He then lent his talents editing reality tv, docu-follow, and documentaries. He has produced and edited for a wide variety of networks including, ABC, NBC, FOX, Spike, Sy-Fy, Discovery, History Channel, Discovery ID, VH1, MTV, HBO, Amazon, and Netflix.

He has created content and helped to sell shows and series for various A-list talent including, Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, Billy Bob Thornton, Willie Nelson, Ava DuVernay, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Reese Witherspoon, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ryan is a member of the WGA West, is a produced writer and director; his scripts have garnered high praise from Judges in competitions placing in various screenwriting contests including, The Titan Awards, Screencraft, Emerging Screenwriters, Filmmatic, Inroads, StoryPros, Scriptapalooza, Page Awards, AFF, and top three times in the top 15% of the Academy Nichols Fellowship.

He mentors for the Young Storytellers which is primarily focused in public schools that lack appropriate funding due to generations of systemic racism and injustice, and believes in the power of storytelling which impacts young people and how they have a part in creating a more just and equitable world.

Ryan lives in Los Angeles, California.