Our Team

Aneesa Khan
Founder & CEO
Aneesa Khan (she/her) is a Pakistani-American filmmaker, producer, and writer. A Northwestern University alumna with a BS in Communication and Media Studies, she has worked in film and television since age 15. She spent summers in Karachi interning at HUM TV, TV One, Lux Style Awards, and with Coke Studio’s PR team for Season 10. Aneesa built experience in Pakistan before going on to work in Qatar, Canada, the UK, and now the United States. Her career has been dedicated to projects that champion underrepresented voices and female-led stories.
Her first film, The Girl With Anklets, an Urdu-language period piece set in 1980s Karachi and filmed in Doha, Qatar, won Best Cinematography at the Pakistani Film Festival Australia 2021 and was selected for six global festivals. She then wrote, directed, and produced Criteria Kya Hai?, a coming-of-age dramedy that secured $18K in funding and screened at ten festivals in 2024. She later served as associate producer and film consultant on Mirrors, starring Deepti Gupta (The Pitt) and Academy Award nominee Paul Raci (Sound of Metal).
Aneesa hosted the podcast Desi Talkies for three years and has held roles at Women in Entertainment, where she coordinated high-profile events including the Annual Summit, at Blumhouse Productions, where she provided script coverage and supported the development slate, and at Rifelion, where she managed logistics for screenings and industry panels. In the past year, she produced six independent films across various formats and genres, all led by South Asian and Muslim filmmakers.
In 2025, she founded Aneesa Talks, a film and media consulting company where she directs, writes, produces independent films, advises filmmakers, and manages creative media strategies. She is now actively venturing into feature film production, currently producing The Hermit, directed and written by Jibran Ahmed, managing investor relations, sales representation across multiple territories, and overseeing early development. She is committed to building production environments where creative teams feel safe, respected, and represented.
Rafa Farihah
Head of development
Rafa Farihah (she/her) is an Indian-American journalist and filmmaker amplifying underrepresented voices through creative storytelling. A University of Houston alum, she produces podcasts for CNN, LinkedIn, and iHeartMedia and documentaries for VICE TV. She collaborates on story development for shorts and features by Aneesa Talks and enjoys film critique, cooking, and hosting bakery pop-ups.
