Rising Stars: Meet Ry Malena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ry Malena.

Hi Ry, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Honor to be back on Voyage! To sum up, I’m a writer/director building an animation studio that’s focused on telling honest, original stories using realistic human performances and immersive world building. Since our last chat in 2019, my team and I have been showing our latest short film PEOPLE PERSON in festivals all over the map — the international community has been really warm and supportive! We’re really grateful to be winning awards as well — it’s a huge gift to be welcomed into the animation space with such open arms. Very motivating.

We’ve also had the opportunity to produce a few narrative music videos for the band Mascot, which has been another formative experience for the studio. It’s given us the chance to continue honing our production pipeline and storytelling process, especially as we attempt to expand our studio’s capabilities and bring more passionate people along for the manic indie joyride.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Only compared to some! I think the main struggle of any artist who is passionate about building a fulfilling career (besides funding the blessed thing) is the maintenance of balance in all other areas of life. Physical, mental, spiritual, and energetic health must be AS important to you as the work — it’s the only way to meaningfully (and steadily) reap the rewards of an obsession with art. It might take longer to make $$$ doing what you love, but at least you’re investing in that lil soul of yours.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our studio Malena Industries specializes in producing original stories that explore the nature of humanity and how we are all connected (and wtf this whole game is all about). The team has been developing a distinct rotoscoped style that festival audiences have responded really positively to, and while we’d like to explore other pipelines/styles in the future, our priorities are iconic characters married with hyper-realistic human, lighting and camera movements. My Assistant Director Duncan Shaffer has been pivotal in bringing these stories and environments to life.

We’re currently working on an original series about liminal spaces that we’re VERY excited to set loose as soon as she’s fit to fight.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
The creation of colorful experiences that expand consciousness.

Contact Info:

• Website: malenaindustries.com
• Instagram: @rdanger
• Other: Watch our film PEOPLE PERSON (Password: whoarewe?)

Image Credits
Malena Industries