» Capital Region filmmaker discusses latest project, sets sights on Schenectady

Capital Region filmmaker Micah Khan has made an impressive number of films over the course of his career, though perhaps none on the scale of his last.

It’s called The Zombie Wedding and is the debut film from the popular former tabloid Weekly World News (WWN). It follows a couple about to be married when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. They decide to proceed with the wedding even though the groom and his side of the family are now zombies. WWN reporters cover the event while trying to make it out alive. It is based on an interactive play by Greg D’Alessandro that premiered in 2015.

Khan was hired to direct the feature film last year and has been working with actors Cheri Oteri, Seth Gilliam, Heather Matarazzo, Kevin Chamberlin, Christine Spang, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Vincent Pastore, Ajay Naidu, Mu-Shaka Benson, The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz, Deepti Menon, Donald Chang, Katie Kuang, Krystina Alabado and Jay DeYonker .

“It was a huge production,” Khan said. “It was a bigger budget than I’ve ever worked.”

Over the past nine years, the East Greenbush resident has directed more than 30 short films, most shot and produced on location. He was recently one of 25 writers selected for the Mentorship Matters program, an initiative aimed at increasing opportunities for aspiring writers of color. It brings selected writers together with established showrunners and encompasses a year of intensive mentorship and creative advocacy.

Looking back, as a kid, it seemed unattainable to pursue a career in filmmaking.

“I’ve always loved films. I never thought it was accessible. No one ever told me you could do this for a living,” Khan said.

Growing up, he watched many American action films and Bollywood films, and after graduating from Columbia High School, he pursued a career in comedy, working at the People’s Improv Theater in New York City.

He landed a bit in Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and starred in an indie film. However, he quickly became more curious about the work behind the camera and moved back to the capital area to study at the New School Center for Media. Around this time he started making films.

“I just started making short film after short film,” Khan said. “From 2014 to 2020 I made 34 short films.”

For the first 10, he did almost all of the filming himself.

“When I started making films, it was just me because nobody told me to ask for help. So I would have a shoulder rig on my arm and then I would hold the boom in my other. It was crazy,” Khan said.

He also wrote many of the screenplays. At first he did them between his retail jobs, but eventually he was able to focus on filmmaking full-time, working as a grip or PA on film sets both nearby and remotely.

Rooting in the industry seems to have paid off. One of Khan’s short films called Meetcute on Danceworld caught the attention of Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff and Ben Stiller, who tweeted about it. It was filmed in Troy a few years ago and is set in a world where people communicate through dance rather than words.

“[The film] I’ve just made my name as a weird, unconventional filmmaker, which is funny because it’s unconventional for them. To me it’s like, ‘Oh, I just love Bollywood.’ I don’t think I changed wheels,” Khan said.

It helped him land the job directing The Zombie Wedding, which was filmed in Vineland, New Jersey last year.

“The best part was that I was able to bring a lot of filmmakers from upstate New York with me to crew,” said Khan.

These included Jim Powers and John Stegemann and others from the capital area. Local actor John Schnurr was also a cast member.

They shot the comedy over the course of 18 packed days.

“Time was our greatest enemy,” said Khan. “In your imagination you make this incredible film and then the time comes in between. I got about 70% of what I wanted on screen exactly how I wanted it.”

In some cases, however, this did the film good.

“Some of the scenes are very different from what I originally wanted. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad. Sometimes you have a storyboard and theoretically it looks great, but then you see an actor doing a certain thing or a certain look and you’re like, ‘Okay, I need another shot of that.’ You want to adapt to what people are doing on set and not be rigid because I just believe movies are like a moving, breathing organism,” Khan said.

eyes Schenectady

The Zombie Wedding is in post-production and Khan hopes it will be released this year. In the meantime, he has Schenectady in his sights.

“I’m trying to shoot my next film here in Schenectady,” said Khan, who used to live in the Stockade.

Khan co-wrote the screenplay, titled “Patterns,” which follows a man who inherits his house after the death of his father and finds a rug in it. When he unrolls the rug, there is an alternate dimension inside the rug. There he also finds a child.

“It’s all about him unraveling this mystery of what this thing is while this thing drives him crazy. It’s a very internal psychological, cosmic horror,” Khan said.

He held discussions with Schenectady Film Commissioner Donna Pennell and Ray Legere, owner of Armory Studios, NY, to make the film.

“I’m so excited for him,” Pennell said.

She and Legere toured the studio with Khan and the production team, including West Field Films’ Powers and Stegemann.

“For me, for the Film Commission, the size of the production doesn’t matter. From big to indie to small, everyone gets the same high level of service from start to finish. That’s super important to us. We’ll be with him the whole time,” Pennell said.

With this project, Khan is looking for local engagement and investment.

“We wanted to shoot a film up here in Schenectady and try to use as many local crews as possible,” Khan said.

He also works with other local filmmakers to help build a filmmaking workforce in the heart of the capital region.

“We really want to help create a workforce up here because I feel like Albany, Schenectady, Troy, all these areas, we could become a film industry if we just start building the infrastructure for it and part of that is workforce . ‘ Khan said. “When these bigger productions come up here, they can hire local talent from our pool.”

He also brings together both working and aspiring local filmmakers through 518 Film Network, which he co-founded with Michelle Polacinski.

“The idea behind it was to really start with that [film] Community up here and get everyone to work together instead of just living alone in a vacuum,” Khan said.

“The 518 Film Network has done a great job nurturing the talent we have at 518 and continues to expand with new members. We have turned to them on numerous occasions when productions have required local crews,” said Pennell.

They plan to hold events like an Oscar watch party and several others this spring/summer. They also help promote local premieres and work by local filmmakers.

“We want you to be in the film. If it’s a hobby, then it’s a hobby. If it’s your passion, try it. Don’t hesitate to reach out and join the community because we’re here to bring filmmakers together,” said Khan.

The Oscars Watch Party takes place on Sunday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Kickback Studios (10 2nd Street, Troy). For more information about the 518 Film Network, visit Facebook.

Categories: Entertainment, Life and Arts