NIKHAIL ASNANI
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​Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
You could say I live in space - where no one can really hear you scream - but physically in Hong Kong for now - LA soon as I have lived there in the past but am ambivalent and might go elsewhere. 
 
Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
Firstly I can’t write short stories or novels. I lack the proper sentence structure and essay skill set for that kind of writing.
I wrote this film because of how there are easter eggs of all my work and life (when I say life I mean my personal life but also including the affects and impressions of others on my life) in basically a ton of films and art forms. And in trying to put all the pieces together, I sort of decided I couldn’t and I got overwhelmed so I was inspired to write this story in a sense that maybe it’s time for the adults to take charge instead.
 
How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
I came up with this idea in the summer of 2022 but I didn’t start writing it until about November 2023, I did many projects prior, then it took me about 2-3 weeks.
Usually my writing process starts with coming up with an idea - then writing a beat sheet outline - then after that I just go for the script. Then after that depending on the script I will usually do rewrites, some rewrites just mean checking for spelling and grammar and others mean really intensive ones but that usually only happens if I have a second reader giving feedback or if I see the script going into pre-production.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
To be validated for the work I have done, receive some sort of credit and money, agency, get things in my voice put into production (as opposed to remakes/inspirations) where there’s a part for me so that I can eventually make it as a full time actor. To be honest, writing was an outlet I chose many years ago because of a lack of self confidence in my acting at the time, due to a period of bad habits in life but also a lack of opportunity in the things I wanted being a minority.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
Actually general film and television writers don’t inspire me - I’m more inspired by certain film auteurs. David Lynch, Ana Lily Amirpour, Guillermo Del Toro, Tarantino, who else… I like The White Lotus a lot but I don’t know who wrote it, I used to like AHS a lot but it’s now a little too close to home, I really enjoyed Celine Song’s film this year, I also like Greta Gerwig but more of her past work than Barbie to be honest, I like Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Tim Burton, Damien Chazelle, Yorgo Lanthimos, Baz Luhrmann, I enjoyed Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, and Robert Eggers and Banshees of Inshirin, and everything Melissa McCarthy is in, Ang Lee, whoever wrote Big Little Lies, and to be honest I don’t watch much television but I did binge Never Have I Ever. I guess at times I tend be a little like the audience where its like put an actor I like in the film and chances are I’ll like the film even more. I guess I enjoy stories that are told in a visual striking way, I love the use of magical realism at times or quirky characters and unique characters, that can be kind of visceral at times.  I love genre and fantastic cinema but I’m slowly going more into drama these days as I’m starting to appreciate more thought out performances.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
This is so hard to answer - every year there’s something else you enjoy -
I guess my favorite TV show would be a tie between Twin Peaks and The White Lotus
And my favorite movie would be – I’ll list 5 - A girl walks home alone at night, Spy, Mamma Mia, A clockwork orange, Kill Bill, The Kings Speech, V for Vendetta, Amelie, The Fifth Element, Clueless, Broken Embraces, The 39 Steps, Inglorious Basterds, The Libertine, Edward Scissorhands, Midnight in Paris, The Reader. Basically just listed out my old Pinterest page profile.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Outline. Then write with emotion. And keep practicing - it took me many many years to improve and everyone is different. Though I was put in many situation that prevented my cognitive development. Everyone has a different style. Everyone likes to watch different things. So I guess write what you’d like to see - I write things I’d like to make.
What really worked for me - was when for a short period of time I was around people in the states that brought out the best in me - opened my mind - showed me how to express myself more freely. So surround yourself with fellow artists. Much of my twenties I was so unsure of myself, and I was so lost and I needed therapy and the environment I was in was so cold — and there were lots of factors inhibiting the artistry I felt I was capable of.
 
And once I sort of fixed more of myself, particularly when I went to the states, and started reading scripts in groups (this is very helpful) and enjoying the art - my work got much better and natural and I discovered my voice. I think for a lot of us it’s about finding our voice and people do that in different ways - there are many times I compare myself to others which is bad - but I guess my work/life has involved others indirectly since very young - and I’m naturally quite smart so there are many days I’m like if only I stayed in that acting class in undergrad and if only I didn’t do so and so and if only I had more or the same opportunities others had while they used me for inspiration — if only the right people involved me— I would’ve achieved better things when I was younger — but I look at my work now and the work of some of those that used my work/life for their work when they were younger - and even though it took me much longer to find my voice - I’m actually okay because I look at a ton of my scripts and I’m like this is better than anything they’ve ever done. 
 
So I think that’s key - finding your voice and you don’t need to do it at 20 or 25, you can build up experience and it can feel more certain at 30 or later even. 
 
Some people will say you need to be a perfectionist and spend years on a script or make sure every line is perfect in this way or that way - I disagree - there have been a few scripts I’ve written twenty to fifty drafts of. And I just felt disappointed because of the time I put in and it didn’t pan out.
 
Also scripts change as they go into production by so many people, and I think you just need to tell a story that feels relevant to you. Don’t write with the thought - oh this script I’m making to win some award - write a story that you enjoy - it could be happy, scary, sad, dramatic.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
What don’t people know about at this point lol. I’m in production of a short that I kind of want to develop into a 70’s minority feature.

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