Anis Maknojia
FOUNDER of LAND AHOY! FILMS®
Executive Producer | Film maker | ACtor
Anis Maknojia’s road to success didn’t start with glamour and glitz. It started in Texas, built on a lifetime of hard work and overcoming personal hardship.
Anis (Ah-niece Mahk no gia) grew up in oil-centric Houston, the son of Indian immigrants. Throughout his childhood, his parents worked hard to provide for their family through their retail business. Anis soon worked with them, taking the time to become an alum at the University of Houston. Eventually, he took over the business, allowing his parents to retire.
A flood of misfortunes came rushing into his life, including a pair of failed business ventures, a broken heart and the sudden death of a close friend. Despite the support network of friends and family, Anis slid into a downward spiral, both physically and mentally. Then, something clicked. Specifically, the lens of a camera.
Anis has always been interested in photography. He began to take photographs, as a way to express his emotions, as a way to let the pain out. Framing an image became an escape from the hopelessness and depression. Like a bright flash lighting the shadows, the art form became the spark, igniting the path to his future.
He began with a cellphone camera and moved on to a more professional camera, reveling in the freedom digital photography allowed. His interests started to expand, and he began to look for images, scenes and moments which reminded him of himself – right there in the middle of everything but maybe perhaps not quite noticed for its full potential.
In 2017, he began posting images to Instagram. He also began to explore the idea of self-portraits. Within a year, financed by his success in the family business and buoyed by his rising status on Instagram, he moved to Los Angeles, where he found even more success. He continues to be a rising influence on the social media platform, with more than 85K Instagram followers and counting, https://www.instagram.com/anis_maknojia/.
In late 2019 and early 2020, he completed numerous advertising projects, supporting Mercedes-Benz, Don Julio Tequila and Armani Code.
With the mission statement ‘We are stronger together,’ Land Ahoy! Films, was formed at the beginning of 2019. Land Ahoy! aims to showcase multicultural talent from around the world and to bring up-and-coming creators together to create inspiring and thought-provoking works of art. Anis calls the company an extension of his passion for photography, this time with moving pictures and the birth of his desire to become an actor and produce films.
Land Ahoy’s core ethos is about inclusion, working to create barrier-breaking pieces where the voices of minorities are captured and projected throughout the world.
Collaborating with Phoenix 4 Productions and Land Ahoy!, Anis starred as Tony in the short crime drama Artifice while also taking on the responsibilities of executive producer. He pursued the lead role because he saw opportunity to bring an unexpected quality – his race – to what could have been a cookie-cutter presentation.
Anis is the executive producer for Breathe, which is currently in post-production. The short film connects several stories exploring the darker side of drugs, violence and religion, again he takes the lead role in the film. Additionally, the two companies are currently in pre-production for With Intere$t, a short film following a mob debt collector into his rising interest in stand-up comedy. Anis will both act in and executive produce the project.
Besides being passionate about creating art, Anis is an advocate for animal rights, world poverty and climate change, LGBTQ rights and more diversity in film. He holds mental health awareness and finding a cure for multiple sclerosis close to his heart because he has family and friends who suffer from these issues.
