

Reception Ĭritical reception for My Name Is 'A' By Anonymous has been mostly positive, with many critics noting that viewer reception for the film would be polarized due to its subject matter. Ryan held a successful IndieGoGo campaign in September 2014 to fund a screening of the movie in Los Angeles. Theatrical and VOD film rights to My Name Is 'A' By Anonymous were purchased shortly after its 2012 film festival debut at Pollygrid and the film was intended to receive a wider release in November of the same year, but the movie did not receive an official release until November 2014, when Wild Eye Releasing picked up the VOD (under the title Alyssa: Portrait of a Teen Killer) and DVD rights. He later decided against releasing the film anonymously, but chose to leave "By Anonymous" in the title to reflect on the anonymity of several of the characters in the film. At this point the film's title had changed to "My Name Is 'A'" and Ryan added the words "By Anonymous" to the title to reflect on what was supposed to be the anonymity of the director.

Prior to releasing the film Ryan chose to release the work anonymously due to negative initial critic reviews. Filming took place over a four-day period on a budget of $300, and the work initially held the working titles of Columbine and The Columbine Effect. Ryan was initially inspired to create the film after viewing news articles and commentary about Bustamante, particularly a segment by Nancy Grace where she " fun of a 15-year-old child, regardless of what she did.

Alyssa (Katie Marsh) is a troubled young teen who spends her days hanging out with her friend The Sidekick (Demi Baumann) and practicing self-harm.
