A screenwriter and producer, Desi Van Til wrote the screenplay for Tumbledown (2014) starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis. She also wrote Married Off,  a feature romantic comedy for Warner Bros., and adapted Julie Orringer’s lauded novel The Invisible Bridge set in Paris and Budapest during WWII as a limited series pilot for Wiip. Desi and her husband, director/producer Sean Mewshaw, are developing a feature romantic adventure comedy for 87North Productions (John Wick, Atomic Blonde), and Desi has an anthology series in development with Story Force in partnership with Blake Lively’s company B for Effort. Desi and Sean were Executive Producers of the Oscar-nominated short documentary Open Heart which aired on HBO, as well as on the feature documentary Bending the Arc which premiered at Sundance in 2017.

Desi grew up in the foothills of rural Maine, the daughter of a pair of public school educators. She graduated cum laude with a degree in English Literature from Princeton University, then won a post-graduate fellowship to Paris that inspired her to pursue a career in film. 

Desi moved to Los Angeles, and subsequently learned the ropes from mentor Greg Silverman at Revolution Studios and Warner Brothers. She then spent five years as VP of Development for producers Donna Roth and Susan Arnold. During that time, Desi associate-produced Gary Winick’s 13 Going on 30 starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, as well as Judd Apatow’s Drillbit Taylor starring Owen Wilson. She adapted and produced the short film Last Night, starring Frances McDormand, based on the James Salter short story by the same name. Last Night premiered at the Venice Film Festival. 

In 2008, Desi relocated to Portland, Maine with her husband, director Sean Mewshaw to produce the comedic love story Tumbledown from her original screenplay. Production of Tumbledown took place in the winter of 2014 outside of Boston, and stars Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Manganiello, Griffin Dunne and Blythe Danner. After winning best screenplay at the Napa Valley Film Festival, Tumbledown premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015 where rights were sold to Starz Digital, and then enjoyed a limited theatrical run and robust digital release. 

Desi is currently packaging her indie feature set on the coast of Maine entitled Little Bear, to be produced in partnership with Silverman’s Stampede Ventures. She’s also recently finished her first full length play which she hopes to produce when audiences can once again safely gather.