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About Us
As the COVID-19 pandemic started its spread across the United States in early 2020, Arthur and Qinling embarked on a journey to Richmond, Virginia, documenting communities grappling with the challenges of the pandemic, lockdowns, and racial tensions. Their efforts culminated in a screening of their work in the PBS Frontline Documentary, “American Voices: A Nation in Turmoil,” directed by Mike Shum.
Since then, DEC8 Productions was founded, drawing its name from our shared birthday on December 8 and symbolizing the commitment to crafting stories with a lasting impact, meant to resonate for 'Decades.' Our ventures have taken us all over the world, where we’ve captured the stories of diverse individuals and communities, ranging from the vibrant low-rider culture in San Diego, California to the high school football fields of Pago Pago, American Samoa.
In 2022, invited by the award-winning film director Michelle Parkerson, Qinling and Arthur collaborated as Director of Photography and Editor on "Fierceness Served! The ENIKAlley Coffeehouse (2021)," a poignant 30-minute film delving into the local history of Black LGBT art in D.C. This compelling piece has been selected for screenings at prestigious events such as the Black Alphabet Film Festival 2021, the DC International Film Festival 2022, the DC/DOX Film Festival 2023, and the Blackstar Film Festival 2023.
With an unwavering commitment to authenticity and impact, DEC8 Productions brings a wealth of experience and vision to the work we take on. With a primary focus on evocative storytelling and an unwavering dedication to amplifying diverse narratives, our company and crew are poised to tell stories that are both genuine and thought-provoking.
Director, Writer
Qinling Li
Born in China, Qinling Li studied and practiced journalism in China, Australia, and the United States. Her work has appeared on PBS Frontline, Al Jazeera English, Newsweek, Politico, and The Christian Science Monitor, among other outlets. In 2018, Qinling returned to her alma mater, Columbia Journalism School, as an Adjunct Assistant Professor. In 2021, her video reporting on transgender sex workers won First Place in the Gender and Society category, and her short film on Black gun rights won Second Place in the National Political/Government Reporting category at the 63rd Southern California Journalism Awards. Qinling is also a member of the Overseas Press Club of America and the Writers Guild of America.
Director, Cinematographer
Arthur Nazaryan
Arthur Nazaryan was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and grew up in the United States, where he works as a filmmaker and photojournalist. His long-term photography projects have been featured in the New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, ABC, The Atlantic, CNN, and Public Radio International, for whom he was also a regular contributing writer. After living and reporting in Myanmar for two years, he returned to the US to focus on his filmmaking career. Since then, his work as a filmmaker has been featured on Al Jazeera Witness, PBS Frontline, and Reason and supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, ITVS, and Chicken & Egg Pictures.
Producer, Researcher
Tarryn Mento
Born and raised in Syracuse, N.Y., Tarryn is a documentary producer and investigative reporter with more than a decade of experience across audio, digital and video storytelling. Her work has appeared on FRONTLINE/PBS, NPR and KPBS in San Diego, among others. She has contributed to multiple FRONTLINE documentaries as a co-producer, production coordinator and reporter, and her audio reporting has earned two national PMJA documentary awards. Before journalism, she gained her work ethic in the chilly warehouse and big box trucks at her family's small business in Syracuse. She is now based in the New York City metro area.
Producer
Aaron Adler
Originally from the California Bay Area, Aaron Adler graduated from CUNY Journalism Graduate School in New York City, where he began his career as a photojournalist. After spending several years working for outlets like NBC, NYDailyNews, and the New York Observer, he joined Dec8 as a producer, with a focus on developing original film ideas and producing editorial content. His film and photography projects have appeared in publications such as the Mail & Guardian, Narrative.ly, Rizzoli Press, NBC.com, New York Observer, Newsday, Mashable, NYDailyNews, City & State, NY Family, Avenue Magazine, NYPress, Metro and others.
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Producer
Maria Chiu
Maria Chiu was born in a Hong Kong taxicab and grew up New Jersey and Los Angeles. Her work as a director and producer appeared on VICE, BBC, CNN, Buzzfeed, Esquire and Hulu. She co-produced the feature film THE EXILES, receiving the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2022 and co-directed the short film THE TOWERS, which received the Tribeca Film Institute & ESPN Future Filmmaker Prize. Maria's love for documentary film began at UCLA and she went on to pursue her masters at Columbia Journalism School. A blend of storyteller and journalist, Maria likes to go between telling stories of quirky subcultures to investigating multi-billion dollar companies.
Editor
Phoebe McFarb
Phoebe McFarb grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland where she currently resides and works as an editor and videographer. For the past few years, she has worked as the Executive Director at Greenbelt Access Television, where she refined her skills by managing productions, teaching filmmaking classes, as well as filming and editing content for broadcast. She currently serves as an editor at Dec8 Productions, where she works on the post-production of branded, editorial, and documentary content.
Producer, Editor
Michelle Gao
Michelle Gao was born in China and graduated from Skidmore College and Columbia Journalism School. Michelle started as video journalism running form breaking news sites to sites, where she gained extensive investigative and reporting experiences. Since she transitioned into documentary films, projects that she has worked on have won The Peabody Award, Cinema Eye Honor, Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, and DOC NYC Grand Jury Award, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary, CPH:DOX award, and IDA Documentary Award.
