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Only five years after graduating from George Mason �鶹����, alumna Rhyan Elliott, ’20, was recently a production supervisor for the five-time Oscar-winning film, Anora (2024), directed by Sean Baker.  ��

“I've always been interested in telling stories, but everything really started happening for me when I got to George Mason,” said Elliott. ��

When she first arrived on campus, Elliott joined the student organization Delta Kappa Alpha (DKA), which focuses on the professional growth of students who hope to work in the cinematic arts. ��

Although Elliott initially pursued a screenwriting concentration and had hoped to work in video game production, she soon realized she liked working in film production. ��

“[With] DKA, I learned a lot more about myself as a creative artist and discovered that I also loved the office side of things, since we’re required to do a lot of different paperwork for events and things like that,” said Elliott.��

Elliott credits George Mason professor and award-winning filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu and her course FAVS 475 Advanced Fiction Directing for inspiring her. ��

“Professor Jusu was very influential to me as a creative artist. I did a couple of projects for George Mason’s Best of Film that are the results of her classes and guidance,” said Elliott. ��

The two projects were the student short film Close Call, which won a student  and the short film, , which she screened at the for. ��

“I had the pleasure of teaching Rhyan and was immediately struck by her unshakeable confidence and ability to harness a room,” said Jusu. ��

“She is a talented, unique storyteller and thinker who bravely made her way to New York after graduating from Mason. It comes as no surprise that she found her place in the crew of such a poignant indie film.”����

George Mason’s Film and Video Studies Program also requires its students to complete an internship before graduation. ��

 “I went to New York in summer of 2019 and worked on two films, Naked Singularity and Black Lady Goddess, as a production assistant, and everything just snowballed from there,” said Elliott, who has worked on multiple indie films, television shows, and A24 productions since graduating. ��

She was also a health safety officer on sets in the wake of the pandemic. ��

“We started pre-production for Anora in November 2022, so this has been a years-long journey,” said Elliott. ��

As production supervisor, Elliott worked closely with the film’s line producer, managing the finances and budget of the film, and making sure that spending was on track with projections. ��

“The cast and crew members are still pretty close, so we had an Oscars watch party at a really cool bar in New York,” said Elliott, who also attended the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France. ��

“It’s surreal to think that this little movie that we put all of our blood, sweat, and tears into and worked so hard and passionately on is now on the big screen and receiving so much praise. There have been so many big moments that you don’t realize are building up to something so amazing,” she said. ��