Russian-born American Writer, Producer, and Actress Anya Bay arrived in the US at the age of 17 with hopes of making the world a better place through the power of filmmaking. She started her journey working as an actress on various films, commercials, music videos. Falling in love with the production world, and wanting to explore how “things are done in the industry”, she transcended into production management and eventually producing for multiple projects of different scales and genres. She’s the co-founder of Infilmity Productions and creator of the short film ‘I Am Normal’, which, tells the story of a sane woman faking the symptoms of a mentally unstable patient enabling her to be admitted into a mental institution for a secret psychiatric experiment. We had the opportunity to speak to her about the short, her production company, and more!
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Firstly, for readers who are unfamiliar with you and your work, how did you get into filmmaking?
I started as an actress and model when I first moved to San Francisco from Russia. But in 2013, I made a move to LA where I met Olia Oparina, who is now my best friend, my producing partner, and director for a lot of my projects. She introduced me to the production world. And I transitioned into working as a Production Coordinator, then Production Manager, and eventually Producer. A couple of years ago I (accidentally) wrote my first short screenplay (“I Am Normal”) and found out that my biggest passion and skill lied in storytelling.
You’re the Co-Founder of Infilmity Productions. Can you tell us more about the company and its objectives?
Olia Oparina and I co-founded Infilmity Productions back in 2015 with a big dream of making this world a better place through the power of filmmaking and strengthening the community of female filmmakers. We made our first feature “Snowbound” in 2017, which we shot in 10 days! After which we realized anything is possible so long as we have our drive and, of course, our fantastic team! We are developing quite a few projects, one of which is called “Divination”, it’s a folk horror/dark fantasy, written by Olia. And now seeing how well our short film “I Am Normal” is doing at the film festivals, we’re planning to turn it into a feature, which I recently wrote.
As female filmmakers in the heart of Hollywood, do you think the industry is becoming more inclusive and diverse in its output?
Definitely. It’s changing rapidly and you can feel the positive impact already. There are lots of programs for female filmmakers. And we’re glad to be a part of this change, as most of our department heads are women. I want to specify that the reason I work with those women is not because they’re females, but simply because they are the best and because we vibe creatively, which I think shows on-screen.
What do you look for when considering a project?
I develop my own projects but also work on somebody else’s. I equally enjoy writing, producing, and acting. It’s important for me that the story is deep and meaningful and, of course, it helps when the team is talented and united in their views.
Your film ‘I Am Normal’, tells the story of a sane woman faking the symptoms of a mentally unstable patient enabling her to be admitted into a mental institution for a secret psychiatric experiment. Please share with us what attracted you to the story?
I came across the article about The Rosenhan Experiment, which blew my mind. I thought it was a great premise. My Dad is a well-known psychotherapist in Russia, so I was always fascinated by the power of the mind and understood the importance of mental health. And I wanted to raise awareness about this subject. Because it was more doable, we started with the short film, which now is doing very well. So 2 months ago I wrote a feature based on it, which delves even deeper into the experiment, mental health issues, and the power of guilt. When we make it happen (fingers crossed), I hope, it will also contribute to another super important matter – suicide prevention.
It was Inspired by the Rosenhan Experiment of 1973. How knowledgeable were you about the experiment before starting the project?
I came across a small article that mentioned The Rosenhan Experiment and it caught my interest, so I started doing research. I was surprised to find that no one has made a movie about it, mostly documentaries. So I familiarized myself with everything available on Google and YouTube. The Experiment itself had a massive impact on the psychiatric world, changed the diagnosis system, and was followed by the deinstitutionalization movement (the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability). If that’s not a fascinating subject, I thought, then what is?
How did the pandemic impact production?
We finished filming before the pandemic, thank God, and were already in post. Luckily, all of our post-production team was available and reachable in 2020, so we were able to edit it and submit it to film festivals.
So, what projects are in the pipeline?
Hopefully, “I Am Normal” feature will happen sooner than later. Also, “Divination”, the project I mentioned earlier. It’s a story about an outcast teenager, that travels to a Slavic Pagan village in Alaska to reconnect with her family, but instead gets trapped in a series of ominous rituals to become the Devil’s bride. We also have the short film with the same name, written and directed by Olia, that was well received. And, of course, there are other films in the works. We’re just starting.
Where can readers find out more about you?
Infilmity Productions website: www.InfilmityProductions.com
My website: www.AnyaBay.com
My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missanyabay/
Olia’s website: www.OliaOparina.com
Olia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olia_oparina/
Links for I AM NORMAL:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnormal_movie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAmNormalMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamnormalmovie
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