BEHIND THE SCENES

ANYA’s cast is led by Ali Ahn (“Libby”), Gil Perez-Abraham (“Marco”), and Motell Foster (“Seymour”).

ANYA co-creators Jacob Akira Okada and Carylanna Taylor, PhD worked closely with geneticists from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Ting Wu and Dr. Ruth McCole. They filmed in streets, homes, and business throughout New York City and at a genetics research lab at Carnegie Mellon University with local extras recruited through the Libreria Barco de Papel in Queens, NY.

Jacob comes from a documentary background and has shot, edited, or produced some amazing projects such as OFF AND RUNNING and NEW YEAR BABY. Carylanna comes from an anthropology and interdisciplinary social science background with over twenty years teaching and research experience throughout the U.S. and Latin America. Together, they co-own and operate First Encounter Productions which was launched in 2004 with the release of Jacob’s directorial debut, CURTIS.

In making their first movie together, the math/art documentary PAINTING THE WAY TO THE MOON, Jacob and Carylanna discovered a shared passion for exploring science, anthropology, and current events through film. Like PAINTING THE WAY, Carylanna’s and Jacob’s first narrative feature, ANYA, takes viewers inside the wonderfully messy lived experience of a scientific discovery. This time, though, the discovery is fictional (though plausible): a new species of humans lives among us.

The resources on this page take you inside the wonderful, messy, and rewarding experience of creating and sharing an ambitious first feature on a micro budget with amazing collaborators throughout the journey, including:

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR BTS BLOG