Founded by filmmaker and photographer Myriam Nicodemus, EM EN is a creative studio and production house based in South Bend, Indiana, and the movement behind a growing community of filmmakers in the Midwest.

Born in Guatemala and raised with a deep understanding of what it means to seek both safety and purpose, Myriam built EM EN as a response. A space to create, connect, and open doors for others. Her family’s journey as immigrants taught her that opportunity is something you build and share, not something you wait for.

As a military spouse for sixteen years and mother to a now-grown son, Myriam has spent her life surrounded by people who risked everything for others. Those years moving, adapting, and rebuilding made her acutely aware that life is short, fragile, and profoundly precious.

That awareness shapes everything she does.

If I can help, I will.
What we learn, we share because access to this industry shouldn’t depend on your zip code. You don’t have to leave home to make meaningful work; you just have to be seen, heard, supported, and given the chance to do it.

People in her life have done brave things so she could live a purposeful, fulfilling life, and it’s her daily goal to do the same for others.

EM EN was originally co-founded by Myriam and Khoa Huynh, whose shared vision helped shape its foundation. Khoa has since dedicated his full time to the sciences, where he continues this same mission in a different form, creating space for new and emerging scientists in the pursuit of cancer research and discovery at the University of Notre Dame. His work, like EM EN’s, is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and the belief that when we make space for others to thrive, we all move closer to healing.

Today, EM EN is both Myriam’s production company and a collaborative platform for artists across South Bend and beyond. While Myriam leads EM EN’s original films and photography projects, the broader EM EN movement thrives through partnerships with other local filmmakers, storytellers, and creatives who share the same vision for community-centered artmaking.

In collaboration with Sarah Hill, Frankie Spalding, and many others, EM EN also stewards AH AH (Area Hall Art House), a physical photo/film studio and shared spaces that provide room for collaboration, education, and production.

EM EN and AH AH move together one the art, the other, the ground it grows from:
EM EN a creative engine and production house.
AH AH the physical space where creative community lives and grows.

Both are built on the same belief:

When we create space for others, belonging becomes the art itself.