Meet Yusuf Khan

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yusuf Khan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Yusuf, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My parents were the examples I looked up to. My father worked for Chicago Transit as well as running a barbershop. My mother worked in retail and nursing. When you are growing up, you don’t pay attention to how hard your parents work. You know they are gone, they come back, they spend time with the family, and repeat, for over thirty years. I mimic my parents in that way. I show up and put 100% effort into anything I do, which makes me a valuable asset. I believe how you work reveals a lot about you as a person. People do not have much respect for those who don’t put in the work.

As far as productions go, a strong work ethic is the difference between a finished project and a project in perpetual hiatus. Giving your 100% effort is crucial to success. Also, having the ability to be collaborative and flexible is important. I had a situation during the pre-production of a project where the Cinematographer desperately needed a specific camera. After numerous quotes, the camera was beyond the scope of the budget. As an alternative, I proposed expanding the lighting options. We watched clips from various movies to give him the visual aesthetic the story was going for. The Cinematographer realized the camera he wanted was overkill and would not be necessary for this particular project. We stayed on schedule, and the film was delivered on budget.

Watching how my parents juggled jobs, house repairs, and family emergencies, yet still made time to take us to the movies, Showbiz Pizza (Chuck E. Cheese came later), Six Flags, and cross-country family vacations, was inspiring. I know they were exhausted, especially raising us crazy kids. They put their 100% effort into their work and 100% effort into maintaining a safe, happy home full of love and laughter. That is the work ethic that is in my DNA.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a filmmaker and podcaster based in Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Chicago. There, I attended Columbia College Chicago to study Film Production and Screenwriting. It was a great experience going there. I was exposed to older films, international films, and experimental films. It opened my eyes to the limitless possibilities of visual storytelling. I moved to LA and started my production company, Infinite Vision Film. From short films to documentaries, Infinite Vision Films provides storytelling that sparks conversation and sees the world in a new way. It gives me joy to see how Infinite Vision Films has evolved. Our projects have received various accolades from festivals here and abroad.

In 2019, I started the In-Flight Entertainment Podcast. We provide turbulence-free movie reviews and filmmaker interviews. In-Flight Entertainment Podcast has cultivated a dedicated global following with over 15,000 downloads from platforms like Apple and Android, solidifying a substantial audience base in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The Filmmaker’s Lounge is a new segment I launched this year. We give the much-needed spotlight to independent filmmakers. They share their journey, advice, and life lessons working in the industry.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My big three would be the ability to adapt to situations, be collaborative, and be reliable. The filmmaking process is a perpetual moving target. Adapting to the ever-shifting nature of creating art is very important. If not, you will always be disgruntled because things are not happening as you have envisioned. If you are not a collaborative person, I urge you not to pursue filmmaking. Filmmaking is not a spectator sport. When the right creative minds collaborate, magic happens. Jaws would not have been the classic we know today if not for the editor’s creative input. I have collaborated with ridiculously talented people in my storytelling journey. Their creative ideas and energy took my project to the next level. Last but not least, reliability is essential in maintaining creative collaborations. No one wants to maintain a professional relationship with flaky people. If I say I will deliver pages of a script at a certain time, I will. If I say I will be on set, I will be there. I keep those three qualities at the forefront of this industry.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Besides love, clothing, and shelter? LOL. The most impactful thing my parents did for me was movie nights. They would pack my siblings and me into the car. On Saturday nights, we would go to the local movie theatre when I was younger. Those trips to the movies planted my filmmaking curiosity. It was the overall moviegoing experience I loved. I did not care what we were going to see. I was excited to see a movie. I would see all of the teen and horror movies with my siblings. I would see all of the comedies with my mom. I would see all of the action and war movies with my dad. My first job in high school was as a movie theatre usher. Naturally, years of movie-watching steered me right into film school after high school. I thank them for taking four crazy kids to enjoy movie magic.

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