A UK/German native, Maya Korn has produced in Beijing, New York, Mexico City, and London. Prior to this, she moonlighted in marketing (The Weinstein Company; BBC and Film Society of Lincoln Center) before landing in the female content space (Refinery 29 & Maven Pictures). She is a Columbia University Creative Producing MFA Graduate ’19 & WIF Creative Producing Mentorship Program ‘20. Through her company, MHK Productions, she focuses on uncovering stories in the genre space that give a voice to minorities and highlight political issues.

 

What/Who inspires you, both professionally and personally? 

For “the what” professionally, I’m inspired by great storytelling.

Personally, I’m super inspired by 80s goth/punk counter-culture aesthetic. I love the photos from that time and haunting music.

For “the who” professionally, I’m very inspired by producer Christine Vachon. Her first company was a scrappy non-profit inspired by the anti-Hollywood New York scene and her next, Killer Films, made my all-time favourite movies (Kids, Party Monster, Boys Don’t Cry). Her projects are queer, feminist, say something, and she is known for being uncompromising in protecting the director’s vision. Christine’s work has had a huge influence on my taste and approach (her book Shooting to Kill is under my pillow), sharpening skills I learned in the immersive theater.

For “the who” personally, I’m really inspired by the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden. I was lucky enough to see her speak once and she’s such a powerhouse. I hope she’ll inspire more women to go into politics all over the world.

 

Director or studio you’d love to work with?

I would LOVE to work with Floria Sigismondi. Her ethereal music videos for Marilyn Manson and Björk had a deep effect on teenage Maya. I have always been attracted to macabre stories and I’m sure digesting Floria’s work is why.

Floria has evolved, directing The Handmaid’s Tale, The Runaways movie; fashion, and branded content videos while maintaining a photographic career. I’d love to work with a creative multivalent like her.

Studio wise, it’s not exactly a studio but I’d love to work with A24. They represent the new generation of storytelling I just adore. I’m sure every bright-eyed filmmaker says that though.

 

Can you describe your first experience in the industry?

My first experience in the industry was when, at 16, my high school told me I had to do a ‘work placement’. I already knew I wanted to be in film, just not in what capacity. After some begging emails, I somehow landed at Richard Curtis’s incredible company Working Title as a runner, one of the biggest and brightest in the UK. I remember running around Soho delivering things for Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley which was their big upcoming release. I thought this was so cool and had no idea what I was doing.

 

Three takeaway lessons for aspiring independent producers?

Perseverance! It takes time and a bit of luck to build your network and skillset. It took me 10 years to go it on my own fully.

Become a “Yes” person! Get involved, say yes to random job opportunities and, if you can afford it, some free work. It’s important to understand what good and bad sets feel like as you’ll probably end up putting them together and what different people do. As well as building your network.

Read everything! Our business is storytelling so you should be up on books, new scripts, articles, epic poems, anything with interesting IP.

 

Who you know vs What you know are both important for success in this industry. In your experience, have you seen one outweigh the other? And, how important is getting a degree in the field of work you’re in?

I think it’s a balance of both. If you’re super connected but don’t know how to do the job you say you do, word will spread and people won’t want to work with you. I’m not really a ‘fake it till you make it’ kinda gal. If it’s my first time producing something, like a branded content piece, I would ask people I know who’ve produced that before to give me the rundown on what to expect and how it’s different from film.

I don’t think having a film degree is the be-all and all, most people in the UK learn on set. For me, my Creative Producing MFA at Columbia was an invaluable resource that transformed me from a cinephile to someone who knew technically what she was doing. Also, the alumni network is incredible. You always bump into alums at festivals and share a kindred spirit as you were in the trenches together. Film degrees are highly expensive and a privilege though and there are so many great resources and panels [outside the school system]. Check out No Film School, NY Women Filmmakers, Shooting People, WIFT, Etheria (for women in horror), Film Independent, IFP, NALIP (for Latin Filmmakers), and many more.

 

Have you been working while in quarantine? If so, what’s been a normal day in your life?

I’ve not exactly been working in quarantine, I guess it depends on how you define working, is it for pay for example. My day incorporates a lot more self-care and hobbies than it used too. I wake up, meditate with the Calm App, and pull a tarot card to see how my day is looking. Then I check my emails, I have some shorts doing the festival circuit so there may be some admin to do with that. I’m also researching and giving notes on a couple of features I have in development and I may watch a Zoom panel related to how the industry is coping with COVID-19.

Then the other half of my day is doing on an online class usually to do with witchcraft- I’ve been getting very into my witch practice in quarantine or reading a book, a luxury I didn’t have before since I was reading endless scripts. Then I may do a Zoom happy hour with friends I haven’t seen and finish my night watching an alien movie which relates to research for the feminist alien feature we have in early development.

There aren’t really guidelines on how to resume a short film or micro-budget feature production safely. I’ve seen some for projects over a million dollars and heard about 3 person crew docs, music videos, and branded content shoots, so my work is basically in limbo for now.

 

Any new projects on the horizon?

Most likely nothing till next year when we have disease-safe shooting guidelines! I have, as I mentioned, this micro-budget feminist alien movie in development that we’d love to shoot next year in New Mexico with fab director Vivienne Vaughn; a short called Becoming (dir. Alexandra Velasco) that looks at inequality and class struggle in the Mexican American community after a privileged young boy mistakenly kills his nanny; a double identity ghost story that will be shot between Virginia and Morocco (dir. Yossera Bouchtia); an anthology feature based around phobias, the brainchild of director Sydney Brafman called Tiny Terrors; a mad horror musical; a Fox Digital Halloween short; a top-secret multi-million dollar feature and so many more!