Growing up, I’ve always had a fascination with the arts. I was surrounded by a family who had such great creativity. I also followed suit, making stop motion animations and YouTube videos and testing out early VFX apps from the age of 8. However, it wasn’t always amazing. My parents migrated from Bangladesh to the UK at a young age. Growing up, the general basis of things is that we should go the educational route, find a high-paying industry and work a 9-5. To my parents, and many people in my culture, that was the good path. Rightfully so. Who am I to try to work in the Film/TV industry? One of the most insecure industries, no one who looked like me had done it. Nobody I knew who looked like me was a successful director, actor, editor, filmmaker. Why should I go through with this and do it?
Because I can. As contradicting as opinions were. My family told me I can, indirectly at least. I saw the struggles it took for my father and many people to make a living in this country, but yet they did it. Against all odds, I have been blessed with the opportunity to dream. I am so lucky I was able to go to university for film, and take acting classes, although I had to work multiple part-time jobs to do so, I’ve never felt so privileged. Yes, I still had to work many jobs to pay these off, yes I sacrificed a lot of time to work and was always told it’s not possible for someone like me. But I still have never felt so lucky and kept it in my mind that I shall do justice with this privilege.
Along the way, working at retail jobs, I met Merina, she told me the incredible story of how her mother had to get out of Albania and flee the country on a boat and face so many hardships in the 90’s. She told me I should make a movie about it. And I thought, an incredible story like that, why isn’t there already? It made me realise that stories like Merina’s mother's, stories from my Bengali heritage, and countless other cultures are not being told. Or at least need to be highlighted even more. In London, I’ve spoken to and met with so many different people from many cultures who have amazing stories, like Merina’s so I’ve made it a goal to try and help that.
There are so many creatives who are so talented. I went to drama schools and university and met some of those people. Great people trying to achieve the same thing. All if not most of them don’t have it easy. I believe that people need to be developed and given opportunities. But the first step is to have belief. One of the most important steps to success. Is to believe. In yourself, In others, and in your work. Without that, we won’t amount to anything. I’ve met people, as well as myself that have been misguided, struggling to achieve their goals and dreams. Because they stop themselves unknowingly, in their mind. I think when giving out opportunities, it isn’t just about helping them in this one given case. But to try to set everyone up for the future. To instil belief, discipline and courage. Core fundamentals are what I believe will help anyone succeed, so I want a part in helping people to do that. It gives me joy, and who knows, sometime in the future I’ll look back and see that as my biggest triumph.
So why am I telling you all of this? These small stories and ideologies are what made me. And made me want to start a company and work in this industry. Belief. I know that we have started our journey, and have a long way to go, but to my family, to my colleagues, the many underrepresented cultures and to anyone who feels and relates in anyway possible, I want to use this platform for them. For what I think matters. To show the 8 year old me it’s possible, and the next 8 year old kid to see what I didn’t. I’ve felt if I was to do anything like this, it must have a purpose and this is that, I hope to use this as a symbol, for anyone to believe.
-Tahmid Choudhury