Joining the Independent Film Family

When Emmy Khan contributed to the crowd fund for independent feature film Anonymous she was also given the opportunity to be part of the creative process and develop her love for film making. This is her story.

As a recent screenwriting graduate, 2020 had left me lost in the centre of an employability void; so, learning of East London independent film company – Shell Out Productions’ daring ambition to shoot a microbudget feature, coupled with a noble cause during these difficult times, was more than inspiring. The second I heard about Anonymous’ admirable aim, I knew I wanted to be involved. The sinking sensation of losing your sense of self and becoming ‘anonymous’ certainly holds a growing prevalence within the competitive, capitalistic nature of our society; even more so with the current global pandemic causing us to separate even further from one another.

Inspiration
Liaising with the incredibly driven writer-and-director-in-chief: Alasdair Mackay, I was taken on as Co-Producer and Behind The Scenes Videographer. While I held experience working with film before, it had never been of this budget or scale, so my excitement was balanced with an eagerness to learn.
The first thing I noticed when stepping onto the independent film set was reassurance at how it was impressively clear just how many steps had been taken to ensure everything on the shoot could operate in a Covid compliant way. People need stories of support right now, so the dedication from both cast and crew to ensure not even Covid-19 could prevent this story from being told was inspiring. This was reiterated several times to me throughout my experience, as part of my role was to interview cast and crew for the Behind The Scenes documentary, and I consistently found such a passion from every person I spoke to.

The Family Business
I was delighted (though, not surprised!) to discover the Anonymous team were as friendly as they were hard-working. This was more than a cast, more than a crew, and more than an independent film production: this was a family. I was incredibly appreciative as to how award-winning director Mackay went out of his way to educate me on the shooting process and allowed me to sit in, as scenes were being filmed. I also found it awe-inspiring to speak to the performers between shoots. Cast member Karenina Angelique shared with me many pearls of wisdom and an insight into her creative journey to develop her character Liv which I will never forget.
I am so grateful for the team on Anonymous and Shell Out Productions for providing me with such a positive experience as my first time on a feature film set. I cannot wait to see the final result of this collective effort of heart.

Meet Emmy Khan our Behind the Scenes Co Producer Emmy is an early career screenwriter, performer and producer based in London. She was recently a finalist in the Screenwriters Network Competition with her first feature film ‘Outsider’, and wrote and directed the stage play ‘Half-Life’. Emmy has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the West End, and trained with the National Youth Theatre