Interview on Bold Journey
Story & Lesson Highlights with Anna Koukouli Born of Brooklyn
October 22, 2025
Anna Koukouli Born shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Anna, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Who are you learning from right now?
That’s a very interesting question that actually makes me smile. I learn from younger people. Gen Z in particular. I’m very fortunate to have met many of them in both Los Angeles and New York, where I currently split my time, and the energy they bring, the perspective we as Gen Xers have lost, and the clarity and uncompromising intention are all so refreshing to me. It reminds me of how I thought life would be. We live in weird times, and although I like to call myself a realist, the prospects of where we’re heading seem bleaker than I can describe. And I get to work with all those “kids”, who are actually working adults trying to find a light and say, “Well, no. It’s not gonna happen this way. Let’s do it differently, let’s find new ways.” This is very important to me. The hope and energy I have in my collaborations with them are currently my true re-education.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Anna Koukouli Born and I’m a Greek born and raised, educated in the UK, and professionally calibrated in Germany and the rest of the world, as I worked internationally for many years. I write mainly feature films about wrinkled, flawed characters in difficult dilemmas and hard choices, or find unorthodox ways to redemption. I have been living in the US for 10 years, 9 of them exclusively in Los Angeles, and the last year between New York and LA. I studied Marketing and was pushed to an MBA by my parents, which I obtained from UK Universities. What else… Ah, yeah. I spent 13 years in creative advertising network agencies, most of them mentioned in Mad Men indeed. Worked the big clients, did the travel, the entertainment, the big campaigns, the focus groups, the events, the awards, the whole thing… Got the burnouts and the scars to prove it! And there came a time to say, well… I really don’t want to be on the business side of things. I’ve always wanted to be the creator. So this is how I landed in 2016 in LA and started my reeducation in writing and directing, and I haven’t looked back ever since. When people ask me to tell them about me in one phrase, I say “Writer/director, retired MBA, tired coffee addict,” and that should be everything they need to know about me.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
That’s a very powerful question, and I have to answer it during a very emotionally charged period, when everything around us is on fire and everyone has stopped making a lot of sense. That last part is where I have found my purpose to have changed. I used to think of myself as someone who could elaborate on what’s ethical, what’s integral, and fair, and tried to fight for it everywhere I could. I kept leaking energy in trying to “fix” things and others. This part of me is done. I have chosen my sanity and the companion and love of my inner circle, my husband, my family, and close friends to create a sense of sanity and safety for me. I’m trying to give as much as I can, when it comes to time and money, to purposes I believe in, but what I can’t do anymore is tolerate and get pushed aside or being bullied by people who have chosen the paranoia of our times. I have become very good at cutting people off because of this, and I’m really proud of it. The over-tolerant and people-pleasing side of me is over.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Every month? Every week, maybe? The life of a writer is difficult as it is, without the distractions of the world falling apart, and all… As you can imagine, this is a very challenging time to create. First of all, most of us are writing on spec, hoping that we will find the right collaborators/producers/executives to champion our script and get it made. I have been lucky enough to have written for others, too, for hire, but those projects are also on spec, meaning a producer or a director pays me to write the script they have an idea about, and they then go to find funding and bigger production companies to make it. Which is seriously difficult. Then we have the destruction of the entertainment industry, especially in LA. Seeing so many people moving out of the city, something I also did myself, but mainly in search of another vocation to train for, in order to make ends meet, is pretty depressing and discouraging. The thoughts of “what am I doing, still pursuing this as a career?” “It’s never gonna happen, why keep going?” are constant. I find solace in writing, and when I put my resolve into my scripts, I become hopeful anew. And this is what matters. Of course, if the world could just calm down and chill a bit, it would help, too.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That it’s all about the money. Well, it’s not. It’s about the stories and getting things made. It’s about creating cultural footprints and impact. It’s about creating the space for filmmakers to generate ideas and produce narratives that affect other people. It’s about the passion of doing, the love for the craft, and caring and collaborating with others. I’ve worked with blue-chip corporations a lot in my previous career as a business director, which gives me insight into the way profitability in the creative industries works, and all I can say with certainty is: it’s all about greed and money on paper. The “magic” of “creative accounting” is hurting even excellent box-office performing films and prevents them from looking profitable, let alone some little indie with limited or no distribution, which can’t recoup its investors’ money. But those “creative accountants”, the studios, the big production companies, etc, they have all lost the plot. Completely. It’s about making things, not milking the budgets and squeezing the life out of crews. They keep saying “we’re storytellers but we gotta be profitable storytellers”, ignoring the fact that they’re operating within a tight frame that puts story last and money first.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I believe strongly in something called work ethic. And I will say this: It’s rare these days. The practice of doing things fully and wholly, without supervision. The feeling that you know what you’re doing and that you trust yourself, and you get satisfaction from the outcome. This is what I had always been longing for, and this is how I was raised and worked my way through studies and any career I’ve been pursuing. It’s about not trying to smart-ass/half-ass the system, the people around you, the process. No corners cutting, no holding back effort. I totally understand that recognition is important, and I have been unrecognized, especially in advertising, where many factors are at play and you share your contributions with bigger teams, or politics take over. I’ve seen a lot of people getting recognized for things they haven’t done, taking credit for other people’s work, or making themselves looking better than they are. The “politicians” of every workplace. Is it enraging? Absolutely. But I can’t compromise my ethics and become an empty suit. I’m of the opinion that unless you know what you’re worth and why, recognition doesn’t mean much.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.annakoukouli.com
Instagram: annakoukouliborn
Image Credits
Peter Rambo
