My Year As Emma
MY YEAR AS EMMA is based on Kamel's year-long social experiment living as a “popular white girl everyone wants to know” named Emma Kinsley. It chronicles the descent of a young woman comfortable in her heritage and culture into becoming someone else to further her dreams and the toll that kind of dilution of self can take on your inner circle and your own psyche. Kamel retells her story as a satire through her own words and cover art, with illustrations by Giulia Giacomino (Gargoyles, Lilo and Stitch), and lettering by Frank Cvetkovic (Count Crowley, Cyberpunk 2077). My Year as Emma showcases a unique perspective of a passing woman of color (WOC), what her journey says about our society and the many ways modern professionals must market themselves to a white-centered palette. We follow young Persian/Egyptian-American actress Amena, who changed her name, appearance, and legal identity to a blonde white woman to escape stereotyping and break into Hollywood. What follows is a wild ride of navigating the unlocked universe of social acceptance, Cannes Film Festival invitations, and all the perks that come with her newfound persona as Emma. But, with mounting success after cutting herself off from her culture, will she solidify her identity as Emma Kinsley or stay true to herself?
Bio
Amena Kheshtchin-Kamel is an alumna of Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, ASU's Herberger School of Film, and ASU's Barrett The Honors College. As a Persian-Egyptian-American writer, producer, director, and actress she focuses on world-building around dynamic characters across multiple genres and formats, with a soft spot for satire and fantasy based on lore. She is currently developing projects across TV, Film, and Comics, which includes her debut graphic novel with Dark Horse Books titled MY YEAR AS EMMA, loosely based on her real story. When she's not writing, Amena studies improv at The Groundlings and also trains as a mezzo soprano opera singer. She is represented 3 Arts Entertainment and Cohen Gardner LLP.
