New Stories.
New Perspectives.

Sunny Perera is a Sri Lankan-American director and cinematographer based out of Dallas, TX. A renegade engineering student turned storyteller, Sunny’s ambition is driven by the will to explore the deeper abstract meanings that film can evoke within any story. A dedication to portraying the truth within each frame.

In 2017 Sunny founded TAMARIND while freelancing early in his career across Texas. In addition to his background in narrative film, Sunny has worked with major brands like Ford, Coca-Cola, Frito Lay, Toyota, McDonald's, AARP, Texas Rangers, AT&T, Wingstop, PBS and more.

Outside of filmmaking, Sunny is either entertaining his two cats, trying to land the perpetually escaping treflip, or adding another roll to his ever-expanding collection of yet-to-be-processed photos. Aside from directing commercials and branded content, Sunny is starting production on his next 2 short films while continuing his documentary short based in Sri Lanka.

Thomas Farmer is a Texas-based producer inspired by creating projects that at their core, are connectable across barriers. Over his career, Thomas has produced short films, music videos, documentaries, and commercials in projects across the United States. Driven to facilitate culturally impactful conversations throughout all stages of production and beyond,. Thomas strives to continue collaborating with emerging, multicultural filmmakers as they tell their stories. As a cofounder of TAMARIND, Thomas has produced the majority of projects under its catalog.  Outside of the collective, he has produced projects for organizations such as Dallas Cowboys, AARP, Vanguard, and University of North Texas.

Jhad Villena is a Filipino-American filmmaker and documentary photographer based in Dallas-Fort Worth. He is currently developing AS WE LEAVE, IT FOLLOWS, an Austin Film Society-supported narrative short. Jhad's work has been provided for Food Network, Games For Change, IMDB, Magnolia Network, Meralta Films, Toyota, and Vox Media.

Born in New York City to Filipino immigrants before being raised across California and Texas, Jhad has helped in past years as a jurist for South Dallas’ Oak Cliff Film Festival and as venue and video crew for SXSW. Jhad has also worked as a local and statewide organizer for Malaya Movement USA, International Migrants Alliance, and other causes throughout Texas.

For Jhad, films are about all the life that happens after the credits roll - such as coffee or ramen breaks, loud music for road trips or public transit, bar banter about memory or systems theory, and midnight runs.

Ciara Boniface is a director, editor, and writer currently based in Los Angeles. Ciara’s experience extends between creating deeply personal narrative short films to visually dynamic music videos, and commercials. Since 2021, Ciara has worked as an editor with Legion Post cutting commercials for brands such as Allbirds, Eco Style, and Barton Perreira. Additionally, she was the assistant editor on Thelma (2024), a Sundance selection.

With firm Texas roots, Ciara strives to shine light on social and Southern-based themes in her work while providing representation for Black women in the horror/ thriller genre's. Her films have been screened across the nation through national film festivals and featured on several online distribution platforms. Under TAMARIND, Ciara has written and directed three short films with her most recent project titled Blue Porcelain. Currently, Ciara is in pre-production for 2 short films with plans to shoot in 2024.

Jon Rafael Birondo is a Filipino-American writer, producer, & director whose work span narratives, documentary, music videos, and live performance projects. Born & raised in North Texas, Jon frequently works in the camera department on narrative feature film and television sets in additional to working as a photographer. Jon’s own work is inspired by his upbringing in the South as the child of immigrant parents. His stories explore what it means to grow up in a world where the future grows more obscured with each passing day.

He is currently deep in post-production on a short documentary piece on Archer City, TX while also busy developing his next narrative short film.

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True to their Texas roots, Olli Taylor is a filmmaker-turned-photographer based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. Having been with TAMARIND since its conception, Olli has an array of experience throughout the worlds of camera department and post-production -- adding their  creative touch to moving and still images alike. Olli worked as a curator for Filmsupply, developing their skillset and passion for coloring. They currently work as a photographer, often collaborating with brands such as Dickies Workwear. As a photographer, Olli's work focuses on capturing people and places at their most unique, utilizing images as a window into their perspective.

In their free time, Olli enjoys DJing, thrifting, and playing disc golf. They love the color olive but hate the fruit.

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Thomas Blanks is a cinematographer based in Dallas, TX. Hailing from Round Rock, Thomas grew his passion for cinematography while gaining experience on a wide range of projects from narrative shorts, commercials, and music videos. His inspiration draws upon the intricacies found in the details between our day to day lives while paired with a lighting approach that feels lived-in and natural to help portray authentic, unfiltered moments on screen.

Thomas has lensed music video projects with esteemed artists such as Travis Scott, Maxo Kream, Eem Triplin, and BRIDGE while in the commercial world, he has worked with major brands like Dell, Ozarka, and French’s. Thomas shot his first feature film at the age of 19, and his second feature in the summer of 2022 on 16mm film. Embracing both digital and analog formats, he is one of the few owners & operators of 16mm format cameras in Texas.

Lauren Shilling is an Emmy Award winning designer, set decorator & art director (Pez Outlaw, Outstanding Scenic Design and Lighting Direction, 2023). Lauren has worked on projects that have premiered at festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca & SXSW (The Green Knight, Miss Juneteenth, No Future). With her focus on feature films, music videos and documentary recreations, Lauren loves diving deep into the minds of a projects’ characters while designing. A process that involves playing out characters day-to-day lives through an empathetic, detail-oriented approach to provide an audience with an inside look into a character’s mind through design.

Lauren is inspired heavily by the Victorian era, German Expressionism & incredibly campy horror films. Little known fact, she has been a hand double in every film she has ever worked on so you might have seen Lauren on the silver screen, rising star alert!

Hofo (Holden Foster) is a creative director and writer whose passion for visual storytelling is evident in every aspect of his work. Holden honed his technical skills across a variety of projects and roles. He currently lends his insights professionally as a Creative Director and Producer for digital, educational content.

Holden’s narrative work is characterized by a thoughtful exploration of themes such as loss, belief, and the nuances of the human condition. Above all, Holden aims for authenticity and detail, pushing the limits of his craft to invite audiences to see the world through a refreshingly introspective lens.

To top it off, Holden designed the logo for TAMARIND. Not bad.

Emily Sanchez is a Austin-based Cinematographer with roots in her hometown of San Antonio, TX. Emily’s passion lies in telling meaningful stories that explore authentic human moments, and loves intertwining absurd and surreal elements. Her lensed projects have screened in film festivals across the U.S. including a short film tilted The Sidewalk Artist  winning the Grand Jury award at Slamdance Film Festival.

Freelancing in the camera department, she has worked across a multitude of commercials, features, documentaries and award winning shorts. Outside of TAMARIND, Emily is also a co-founder of the Tejano film collective Watchale where they explore the space between fact and fiction.

Matthew is a producer and production manager based in Austin, TX, with a frequent flyer pass, traveling wherever a projects needs him. A lover of film and nature, Matthew has combined these interests to produce films, commercials, and multiple television series across the nation. In the past he has collaborated with Magnolia Network to coordinate productions for reality and unscripted series. In addition, he has produced commercial productions for brands such as Target, AT&T, and Living Spaces.

Matthew brings a sharp, detail-oriented eye to production, balancing the creative and facilitating the practical needs of film production. He brings a logistical, but ever-enthusiastic approach to developing stories from paper to screen. His ideal retirement plan would be buying a small airplane and crossing the country with his Aussie-Doodle, Piper.

Monica Bartley is a Dallas based art department coordinator, production designer and set decorator who has a focus in commercials, music videos and short films. Most recently, Monica worked as the production designer on The Sidewalk Artist, a short film that premiered and won the Grand Jury award for Best Narrative Short Film at Slamdance Film Festival in 2023. She has designed brands such as AT&T, Dallas Cowboys, Bank of America, Marriot, and State Farm.

She loves the challenge of working with a large team of people to transform a space into something else entirely. Spending the time getting into a character’s mindset or the brand’s story is where all the fun is.

Monica is inspired by her friends and is willing try anything twice! She’s also really good at impressions but please don’t put her on the spot.

Dylan is an editor, designer, and digital artist. In the commercial space, they have served as editors and designers while also developing motion graphics and animations for organizations such as Main Event, Mellow Mushroom, and Freddy’s Steakburgers. Additionally, Dylan has designed digital assets and materials for local community-based projects and activist groups.

Dylan’s creative process focuses on building both parallels and juxtaposition by deconstructing various design elements down to their core function in order to create engaging pieces. They create visuals as a way to convey larger, meaningful concepts through simplified, and often hidden, components working together in complex ways.

This site that you’re browsing right now? Designed and built from the ground up by Dylan. So add Web Designer on top of all that.

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Noah Spencer is a singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based out of Kansas City, Missouri. He has been a regular member of The Greeting Committee since 2018 and has been touring ever year ever since. Noah released his debut album, Census, in 2021 with plans to unveil his new project later this year.

Noah has been a key collaborator with TAMARIND since our earliest projects in North Texas, quickly developing a close, creative relationship by composing short films and individual project tracks. Additionally, Noah has produced music videos and a live performance piece under TAMARIND, with plans for more visual projects soon to come.

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