Yalla is a celebration of joy at the creative process, a hothouse of original ideas and talent. We work together to form a truly diverse whanau whose cultural roots embrace Asia, South Asia, Africa, Europe, New Zealand and the Pacific. Our values are as individual as our personalities, influenced by philosophies from the secular to Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism yet fully inclusive in our dynamic collaborations. We work in a variety of formats and storytelling styles to provide entertainment, whether it be documentary, drama or comedy. Our kaupapa includes identifying and mentoring new talent to join our workshop of creative minds.
Alex Lee
Alex holds a Masters of Creative & Performing Arts ( MSPA) in Drama Directing with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland and is a practising lawyer and filmmaker. He is the Co- director and Founding Trustee of the Documentary New Zealand Trust.
Read moreAlex holds a Masters of Creative & Performing Arts ( MSPA) in Drama Directing with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland and is a practising lawyer and filmmaker. He is the Co- director and Founding Trustee of the Documentary New Zealand Trust. He directs the Oscar qualifying Doc Edge International Film Festival and Industry Forum. He has been a panellist and speaker on many international screen forums as well as a jury member of leading international film festivals. Alex is also leading Good Pitch Aotearoa NZ, scheduled to be held in 2021.
He advocates for the screen sector and was until recently Chair of Film Auckland. He is passionate about diversity and impact story- telling. In 2018, he executive produced ‘Hip Hop-eration’, a critically acclaimed, international award winning feature documentary. Alex has also produced and directed other award-winning long and short form fiction, including independent feature ‘The Last Magic Show’. As co-director of Yalla Media, he currently has multiple theatrical documentaries in development.
Alex holds a Masters of Creative & Performing Arts ( MSPA) in Drama Directing with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland and is a practising lawyer and filmmaker. He is the Co- director and Founding Trustee of the Documentary New Zealand Trust. He directs the Oscar qualifying Doc Edge International Film Festival and Industry Forum. He has been a panellist and speaker on many international screen forums as well as a jury member of leading international film festivals. Alex is also leading Good Pitch Aotearoa NZ, scheduled to be held in 2021.
He advocates for the screen sector and was until recently Chair of Film Auckland. He is passionate about diversity and impact story- telling. In 2018, he executive produced ‘Hip Hop-eration’, a critically acclaimed, international award winning feature documentary. Alex has also produced and directed other award-winning long and short form fiction, including independent feature ‘The Last Magic Show’. As co-director of Yalla Media, he currently has multiple theatrical documentaries in development.
Marilyn McFadyen
UK born, Kiwi raised, Marilyn has spent much of her adult life between countries, where her lifelong fascination with different people and cultures confirmed in her mind that our dreams and desires overlap much more than our perceived “nationhood” would like us to believe.
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UK born, Kiwi raised, Marilyn has spent much of her adult life between countries, where her lifelong fascination with different people and cultures confirmed in her mind that our dreams and desires overlap much more than our perceived “nationhood” would like us to believe. She has developed a passion for authentic storytelling that crosses these imposed borders, that is entertaining and engaging, while subtly affecting change in attitudes.
Her experience started on the NZ studio floor, but a move to Singapore led to international projects taking her all over the world, with multiple-language crews, in often trying physical conditions. Clients include BBC, Nat Geo, The History Channel, Discovery Networks, Channel News Asia and TVNZ
She was author, researcher and editorial lead on “Veil of Dreams”, a feature film that penetrated the secretive world of women’s football in Iran. She researched, wrote and directed a 3 part series on unknown stories of WW2 in Asia for The History Channel, directed the Australian and Asian episodes of “Ecopolis”, with Darlow Smithson London, for Discovery Channel and produced/directed a series of five shorts for the Asian launch of BBC Knowledge. In 2019/20 she researched and co-wrote the theatrical feature “Balance of the Five Elements” and its accompanying TV series “Colours of China” a New Zealand/ Germany/ China co-production.
Marilyn now has a slate of documentary projects in development as part of Yalla Media.
UK born, Kiwi raised, Marilyn has spent much of her adult life between countries, where her lifelong fascination with different people and cultures confirmed in her mind that our dreams and desires overlap much more than our perceived “nationhood” would like us to believe. She has developed a passion for authentic storytelling that crosses these imposed borders, that is entertaining and engaging, while subtly affecting change in attitudes.
Her experience started on the NZ studio floor, but a move to Singapore led to international projects taking her all over the world, with multiple-language crews, in often trying physical conditions. Clients include BBC, Nat Geo, The History Channel, Discovery Networks, Channel News Asia and TVNZ
She was author, researcher and editorial lead on “Veil of Dreams”, a feature film that penetrated the secretive world of women’s football in Iran. She researched, wrote and directed a 3 part series on unknown stories of WW2 in Asia for The History Channel, directed the Australian and Asian episodes of “Ecopolis”, with Darlow Smithson London, for Discovery Channel and produced/directed a series of five shorts for the Asian launch of BBC Knowledge. In 2019/20 she researched and co-wrote the theatrical feature “Balance of the Five Elements” and its accompanying TV series “Colours of China” a New Zealand/ Germany/ China co-production.
Marilyn now has a slate of documentary projects in development as part of Yalla Media.