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By: Myriam Akbar Jake Myers is a filmmaker, animator, and creative director based in Chicago. He’s known for his short films Kombucha! , Emojihead , and Alien Seduction . After its festival run, an expansion of one of his short films was released on streaming services. The plot of this body horror film involves a physically and psychologically transformative beverage, provided by a company for its employees. Kombucha’s world premiere was at DWFLA, where it won the Audience Choice Award. It also won awards at Grimmfest, Vortex, ATL Horror, Samaine, and Chicago Underground. Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Myers about his passion for cinema, how this film came to be, and his personal experiences that influenced it.  Like many of us cinema lovers, our passion for film stems from childhood. Myers shared that his parents were teachers, athletes, and musicians—so they encouraged him to have eclectic interests. “I played volleyball, sang in an acapella group, and watched as ma...

By: Myriam Akbar Meet Tyrone Williams, director and host of the podcast Evol FM. He’s a Sacramento, California native but  currently lives in Philly. He says his passion for creating content began in the middle of the pandemic,  when he was trying to “stay sane as an essential worker.” Two years later in 2024, he started his podcast and has had the opportunity to speak with many people in the field. Evol FM mostly covers fans of the horror genre and other black creatives. His goal is to give people their flowers and have fun, while building community. “The best thing about creating content is sharing my ideas with my peers and the most challenging part is finding the time to schedule everything in a balanced manner,” he says.  Williams discovered his love for film after watching Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me and the behind the scenes footage, also becoming inspired by filmmaking as a career. As for horror, he highlights Child’s Play 2 as a groundbreaking discov...

By: Myriam Akbar Janecka Deer-Olen is a determined and fiery Florida-based content creator, who explores themes of horror both real and imagined. She has a daughter who is the drummer in a local band that is gaining popularity and a husband who owns a small music venue in Orlando. Deer-Olen has been making social media content for 7 months; however, she’s had her podcast for a year. Additionally, she hosts horror trivia events at her husband’s venue. She says the best part of creating content is the community that she gets to form; however, she explains that there are some hardships that come along with it. “I'm still fighting for recognition in a space that is saturated and where my values and the topics I cover are being shadow banned. It makes it hard but I won't stop,” she says.  Deer-Olen’s passion for visual arts began as a child, having grandparents who shared the same interest. Her grandmother Harriet Deer, was a Professor of English at the University of South Florida. ...

By: Myriam Akbar Meet Anaya Davis—a passionate and charismatic social media content creator, based in Los Angeles. She started making videos on TikTok about television and film in March 2023, becoming known for her character analysis and rankings. Mostly covering horror and drama, Davis has gained a solid following and exciting opportunities. This summer she spoke on the Housewives of Horror panel, at GhoulieCon in Kentucky.      “It was exciting to be alongside like-minded people, discussing horror and how important women are to the genre,” she says. “It was scary at first but so much fun. I felt at home once the nerves wore off and hope to do more similar events,” says Davis.      When asked to reflect on where her television and film journey began, Davis remembers loving it since she could comprehend it. “I fell in love with being fully immersed in the world that was being built in front of me and it also contributed to my own creativity,” sh...