About
Rayana Rasamee is a Thai-American cinematographer whose work is defined by mixed-media, bold color palettes, and a commitment to illuminating marginalized voices.
Before stepping behind the camera, her early career in technical recruiting taught her to read people beyond their words — to sense what they reach for, what they hide, and what they hope to become. That attentiveness now lives in her images: quiet gestures, charged color, and textured intimacy that transform observation into emotional truth.
A graduate of AFI’s MFA Cinematography program (2022) and alum of the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women (2018), Rayana has been honored with the WIF Cinematography Fellowship (2025), the ASC Vision Mentorship with Nancy Schreiber, ASC (2025–2026), and Issa Rae’s ColorCreative “Find Your People” cohort (2023). Her films have screened widely, including at AFI Fest, Newport Beach Film Festival, Rhode Island International, LALIFF, Edmonton International, and Marché du Film at Cannes Film Festival.
Before stepping behind the camera, her early career in technical recruiting taught her to read people beyond their words — to sense what they reach for, what they hide, and what they hope to become. That attentiveness now lives in her images: quiet gestures, charged color, and textured intimacy that transform observation into emotional truth.
A graduate of AFI’s MFA Cinematography program (2022) and alum of the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women (2018), Rayana has been honored with the WIF Cinematography Fellowship (2025), the ASC Vision Mentorship with Nancy Schreiber, ASC (2025–2026), and Issa Rae’s ColorCreative “Find Your People” cohort (2023). Her films have screened widely, including at AFI Fest, Newport Beach Film Festival, Rhode Island International, LALIFF, Edmonton International, and Marché du Film at Cannes Film Festival.
ray@rayana.co
Featured Press
Women in Film Announces 2025 WIF Fellowship Class
Ex-Chromatics Ruth Radelet, Nat Walker, and Adam Miller Reunited in Dreamlike Super-8 Video for the “The Veil”
Hollywood Reporter: Top 25 American Film Schools (2023)
Hollywood Reporter: Issa Rae’s ‘Find Your People’ program cohort (2023)
Sante Fe New Mexican: Horror filmmaker living dream (2023)
Hollywood Reporter: The short films from Issa Rae’s ‘Find Your People’ inaugural cohort (2024)