THE FILMMAKERS
RAY Dillman
writer/DIREctor
Ray was born to career military parents, with family roots in the red clay of Augusta, Georgia. During his nomadic childhood, he lived in Spain, England, Texas and the US Southeast. He began his career as an art director working in advertising agencies in the US southeast and in Chicago, at The Leo Burnett Company.
He made the move to directing after working as a creative director on Burnett’s International Task Force as a global problem solver. Taking temporary posts in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Tokyo, he organized creative teams and supervised the cultural adaptation of campaigns created for clients like Philip Morris.
Trained as a graphic designer and illustrator, he is a classic storyteller as a filmmaker, known for his Emmy Award-winning spot for Snap.com and his emotionally powerful commercial work for clients like American Airlines, Bank of America, The US Army, The Home Depot, Questrade, Sargento, Saturn, and Zales.
Ray is a passionate cyclist who participates in Gran Fondo endurance events, is an Ambassador and ride leader for Helen’s Cycles, Santa Monica (the best bike shop you ever saw) and dearly loves hurtling, with furious enthusiasm, down steep, twisty mountain descents.
jon messner
producer
The Milwaukee native and Emmy Award-winning producer was a standout wrestler at Pius XI Catholic High School.
He graduated from The University of California Irvine with degrees in Social Ecology and Criminology. Initially determined to be an attorney, a year-long law firm internship sent him on a new path in his 20s, traveling throughout the globe, ultimately settling in New York City.
In New York he found his calling in the world of film production.
For the past 18 years Messner has built extensive experience producing large scale film projects in nearly every state in the US and over 100 countries.
Known as a Director’s Producer, managing client interface with aplomb while protecting the artistic outcome, Messner is a big-game, detail-oriented filmmaker.
He has worked as Ray’s first call producer since 2014, helming projects in the US, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa.
serene meshel-dillman
producer
A New York native and dancer with a passion for the visual arts, Serene attended The School of American Ballet, Tenafly High School then The University of Vermont.
Post graduation, she opted out of law school and worked at an advertising agency in New York, founded a company that imported baskets from Haiti, then moved to Los Angeles to work in production on television commercials. Commercial production stuck and she worked her way up until she became a producer.
In 2014 Serene conceived and directed the documentary film, “Getting to The Nutcracker”, a behind the scenes look at what it takes to produce the classic ballet from auditions to final performance. The movie garnered 7 major festival awards, including a Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, Best Direction, and Best Feature Documentary. “Getting To The Nutcracker” is distributed through Gravitas Ventures.
Her second documentary, “The 5th Dementia” is about a Los Angeles-based band whose members live with Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s. The film was released on VOD in November 2019 through Gravitas Ventures for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.