We recently had the chance to connect with Ayem Walters and have shared our conversation below.
Ayem, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
If I’m not at work, you can find me at the gym! My fitness and nutrition journey has been going on for a few years. I focus my workouts on strength training, followed by cardio and ending off with a good stretch. Working out fulfills my soul and releases me from the stressors of the outside world.
Going to the gym has proven to me that I am stronger and more capable than I thought. It tests my levels of discipline which keeps me growing for the better physically and especially mentally.
I grew up severely self conscious of my body image, it destroyed me. Thankfully into my college years, I overcame those inner demons against food and societal standards and put them to use towards my workouts.
The feeling of lifting heavier than the week before, and fueling myself with food and protein is so rewarding!
The gym reminds me of why I should be confident and to keep pushing hard no matter how tired I am.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello everyone! My name is Ayem Walters. I am a 25 year old independent horror filmmaker and freelance production assistant. As a production assistant, I have worked on films, commercials, music videos, promos, and more! On independent projects, I am a writer and director with additional experience in the lighting and art department.
Verloren Productions released my first feature film THE STATIONARY BIKE (2022) to Youtube! This film is based off of a Stephen King short story.
My new upcoming trans horror short film, ITCH, is undergoing post production, anticipated to release in 2026. This alien-like creature horror film deals with gender euphoria, gender dysphoria, isolation, and a powerful trans man lead Adriel Bernal.
On days where I am not working on set. I focus my attention on creating new scripts and ideas for upcoming horror films I will make.
I feel enthusiasm towards the horror genre, for as long as I can remember. Horror’s unpredictable uniqueness, campiness, and terrifying ideas fills me with immense joy that inspires me to create my own horror stories.
Entering deeper into my transgender identity is how I discovered the reasoning for my inner horror obsession.
I can’t help but express how other worldly and monstrous it feels to be trans. Now don’t get me wrong, being trans has kept me feeling young, hopeful, and fuller than I have ever felt! I love being trans, its a freedom I grew up yearning for!
However, with LGBTQ+ people being affected greatly by having their rights and humanity stripped away, I can’t help but feel connected to the horror genre, because horror is also considered an abomination and disgrace to society. Both horror and queerness face backlash and hate for existing, being unique, and being itself. That sole connection between the two is why I am who I am today.
I am on the path of fulfilling my dreams as a filmmaker by creating horror films full of queer storylines, ideas, cast and crew!
I strive to create a fun, safe space for fellow LGBTQ+ filmmakers and artists to live authentically while pursuing what they love.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful was in the fifth grade. Our reading/english class teacher gave us an assignment to create a book. To write an original story, beginning middle end, with self- illustrated pages and title cover that we laminated, this was the real deal.
I should have known horror was always in my blood, because I wrote a teen slasher story, titled, THE MANIAC. I made the characters based off of me, my twin sibling, and two cousins.
Teenagers come across a hottie at a store, then an old creep on the way home, weird things begin to happen, their house party gets crashed by the murderous old creep with a plot twist ending. For fifth grade I thought that was the most awesome plot.
I not only described the slasher’s murders with detail, but illustrated the weapons and gory blood pouring out of these teenagers bodies. And trust me, I did not hold back on the blood.
This was my first official horror story, I felt amazing, the writing and imagining of these scary ideas thrilled me!
To top it all off, our teacher read every single story aloud to the entire class! I did not know that was the plan, I thought she would grade it personally and hand it back. But no, my violent story was read by my teacher, and funny enough, everyone loved it! While the teacher read my book with concern and nervous laughter, the class went wild and wanted more. I knew in that moment I wanted to pursue that passion of horror story-telling, and I am proud to say I still have the book, kept away somewhere in the house.
Now looking back, if a fifth grader wrote something grotesque and violent like this I would be concerned, and until this day I am still surprised this book didn’t cause me a phone call home.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Many thoughts come to mind if I had an opportunity to say something to my younger self. One of the most important ones would be, don’t be afraid to live as your authentic self.
I believe my transition has started fairly early in my life, however everyday I wonder what my life would be like today if I had transitioned earlier, and allowed myself to be who I felt like inside growing up. I used to repress my queerness, I would live as an image for other people in hopes not to ruin relationships and to abide by society standards, which caused me years of pain and emptiness. While I officially came out as trans in 2023, it clicked that I’ve always been trans ever since early childhood, everything felt connected. It was born with me, but growing up with no actual teachings of LGBTQ+ representation and terminology, it’s something I never got to understand or dive deeper into until I hit adulthood. If I can save my younger self the trouble and sadness, I would MAKE SURE they absolutely know who they are is wonderful, awesome, and a gift, to never live for anyone else’s happiness and to be loud and proud of your sexuality, identity, and worth.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I believe the public version of me appears too focused. While on set, i’m on a mission. Whether i’m production assisting, gripping, or directing, I am in the zone on getting the job done. I keep the work moving and think ahead of what I can accomplish in order to keep the work flowing effectively and smoothly. I appear too focused that people need to stop and ask me if I am okay, which I completely am! I am simply in my element and cannot rest until my tasks are complete. However when the time and place is right, I allow my true goofiness to show. The real me loves to make jokes and go with the flow and not take things too seriously. I create a balance for my behavior in public because if not, my silliness will get the best of me. My intensity in public especially while working comes from wanting to guard my inner peace. With that, I reserve the real me for people who deserve it. Some people don’t understand me, my lifestyle, my identity, or for whatever reason they have, and that is okay! I have made peace that if the public does not care for the real me, then they won’t get it, and only those deserving like my girlfriend, true friends and family members will live with me in my real light.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
I know I have made it in life when I genuinely feel excited and pumped to go to work, so happy to the point where I don’t even consider it “work”. And I am that level of proud when working on set. Ever since childhood, I felt in my soul that filmmaking was my calling, and no matter what path I chose it always lead towards filmmaking. While making my own films and working on indie gigs fulfilled me, I was ready to take it a step further.
Last year in Fall of 2024, I had the great opportunity of joining STREETLIGHTS, which is a production assistant training program that guides minorities into getting their foot in the door of the entertainment industry. Their trainings involved teachings of terminology, on-set etiquette, mannerisms, hands-on work, and expectations of being a professional production assistant.
I took this program to heart, and invested time and energy to make sure I was prepared to handle what it takes. Fast forward to now, I can confidently say I have worked on a countless amount of professional, big budget sets! From commercials, music videos, promos, and film! I had the honor of working with big names like Keke Palmer, Megan Thee Stallion, Jennifer Coolidge, and more! I have worked up and down the LA county and on big studios like Universal and Paramount!
And I truly could not have done it without STREETLIGHTS. They gave me that stepping stone of working closer and closer to my dreams every day! And when I’m not on these sets, I work on developing my own horror films, continuously keeping myself engaged and fulfilled with my craft.
I am excited where I stand in my career, and the thought of what my future holds for me in this industry excites me even more. While filmmaking, I don’t day dream about being anywhere else, because I know I am exactly where I need to be.
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