Above all else, Ryan is passionate about telling compelling, creative stories that can change the world for the better. 

Over Ryan’s career, he’s been fortunate to capture many powerful and important stories. He’s traveled rural Punjab capturing undocumented stories of a Sikh genocide, documented the struggle of indigenous peoples against oil companies in Montana, followed the HIV/AIDS outreach work of an NGO in Mozambique, edited an HBO feature documentary on reproductive rights, filmed the intensity of para-athletes pushing their limits, shot content for Headspace around a monastery in the Himalayas about mindfulness, shot a documentary about re-housing the most at-risk homeless in Los Angeles, and has had minor roles on Netflix and HBO series that deal with wrongful conviction and bringing cult leaders to justice.  

Ryan has also been fortunate to work with some incredible clients. His commercial clients include Verizon, Dreamworks, the Atlantic, the BBC, FX Channel, Coachella, Headspace, Christie’s, and he’s had his work featured on FunnyOrDie, Upworthy, The Huffington Post, CNN, and the BBC. In 2020, he co-founded a boutique production company with Benjamin Fischinger called WestFish, which primarily focuses on commercial content in the medical space. 

Ryan’s latest film, American Sikh, is the sixth film he’s worked on about Sikhs and Sikh issues and the second film he’s worked on with Vishavjit. Ryan and VIshavjit have worked closely for almost 4 years to craft the origin story of his superhero alter ego. In the future, Ryan and Vishavjit plan to continue working together to create compelling content that helps introduce more positive representation for Sikhs into the media landscape.

You can reach me at ryangwestra@gmail.com.