We make documentary films
and cinematic campaigns
that people feel,
not just see.
A production studio building story-driven campaigns worldwide, for brands with something real to say, not just something to post.
MENTARI PRODUCTIONSSTORY-DRIVEN CAMPAIGN PRODUCTIONON LOCATION · WORLDWIDE
Recent work
Campaigns, films and the odd personal project, shot on location, on film, wherever the trip took us.
Services
Story-driven campaigns for brands with something real to say.
We make advertising that still tells a story. Documentary films built around real people and real places, cinematic campaigns written as scenes rather than shoots, and everything that surrounds them: casting, locations, styling, post.
End to end, two people, anywhere.
Story & Creative Direction
Before anything is shot, there's a story. We find the one your brand already has and write it into something with a beginning and an end.
- Concept and narrative development
- Treatment and moodboard
- Shot list and shooting plan
- Direction on the day
Documentary
Real people from the place we're shooting. Their work, their hands, their season. The product lives inside their world instead of being placed on top of it.
- Documentary film
- Stills shot the same way
- Access and fixing on location
- Interviews where the story needs a voice
Cinematic Campaigns
Models and direction, but written as a scene. Acting, not posing. For brands who want the campaign to feel like a film rather than a catalogue.
- Campaign film, 20s to 3 minutes
- Social cutdowns
- Campaign stills
- Behind the scenes
Locations & Production
We find the place, get the access, and handle everything that has to happen before the camera turns on.
- Location scouting
- Permits, fixers and local coordination
- Set styling
- Full production logistics
Casting
The face carries the story, so we cast for it, whether that's a model who can act or a fisherman who's never been filmed.
- Model casting
- Real-people casting on location
- Talent coordination and releases
- On-set management
Styling & Post
- Wardrobe sourcing and styling
- Props, set and art direction
- Hair and makeup coordination
- Retouching, colour grade and edit
Add-ons
- 16mm film capture
- Camcorder and iPhone content, for a more personal, handheld layer
- Graded clips, so your team can cut its own social
- Extra shoot days, rush delivery, extended usage
We create stories worth remembering.
It started with Mentari.
What began as a personal project between two friends became a space to experiment, travel, shoot, and tell stories through images and film. Somewhere along the way, we realised the part we loved most wasn't designing the clothes: it was everything around them. Finding the location. Building the mood. Bringing people together. Chasing the right light. Turning an idea into something you can actually feel.
So we decided to take that feeling beyond our own brand.
We are a storytelling-driven production company built by two creatives with backgrounds in fashion, photography, film, and modeling. We create documentary-style campaigns and visual stories for brands that have something real to say.
We believe the best content doesn't feel like an advertisement. It feels like a moment you happened to be there for.
From the first idea to the final frame, we bring together creative direction, production, photography, film, and the experience of being in front of the camera to create stories with a sense of place, movement, and emotion.
We don't just want to show what a brand makes. We want to show what it feels like to be part of it.
Alexis Vangelis
PHOTOGRAPHY & FILMGrowing up between three worlds, India, Vienna, and Greece, set the course for the way I see through a lens. I'm Alexis, a cinematographer and director who has worked across advertising, cinema, music videos, and live performance over the past years, traveling for projects and collaborating with creatives who see the world a little differently.
I believe you have to live fully, highs and lows included, to tell a story worth telling. That kind of attention, taking everything in and constantly translating it into something you can share, is what pulled me toward film in the first place: a way of holding onto a certain light, a certain silence, a feeling most people don't stop long enough to name.
That instinct is what led to Atelier Mentari: a collective of artists, surfers, and life enthusiasts, bringing that same love for life into every project, wherever in the world it takes us.
Michael Naka
CREATIVE / PRODUCERRaised by hippie parents in a favela in Brazil, I grew up with the ocean as my escape and surfing as my passion. My background in engineering eventually took me to Germany, where I completed my master's degree, but it was the fashion industry that opened the door to a completely different life: one shaped by travel, creativity, people, and constant movement.
Over the past three years, I've worked as a model across different markets and became increasingly interested in what happens behind the camera. Through my own projects, photography, and the work we created for Mentari, I realized that the part I enjoyed most wasn't designing the product: it was bringing people together, creating the concept, building the atmosphere, and turning an idea into something you can actually feel.
Today, I'm bringing that experience together with my creative partner Alexis to create stories for brands through photography, film, and documentary-style production.
I'm drawn to real people, real places, and stories that feel lived rather than staged.
Let's shoot something
Tell us the brand, the story, and roughly when.
- Based
- On location, worldwide
- Inquiries
- We reply within 3 business days