We recently connected with Uddin and have shared our conversation below.

Uddin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was thirteen years old when I decided all I wanted to do with my life was make movies.

Up until then, whenever folks asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I’d say, “I wanna work at Toys R Us.” Let’s be real, hanging out with toys all day seemed like a pretty sweet gig.

Then, towards the end of seventh grade, my dad showed me the movie that would change my life — Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I know what you’re thinking. Of course, what a great movie! Who could forget that legendary soundtrack? You can’t look at George Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte without hearing The Dream Academy’s haunting rendition of The Smith’s “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” Anytime I see a Ferrari, I think to myself, “Oh yeah… chicka chicka.” After all, John Hughes was the teenager’s spokesman!

And all of that is true and would eventually, strongly, influence my work as a filmmaker. But none of that was the reason I decided to go into the arts.

It was the credits.

My dad had told me there was a post credit scene (which in 2012, had yet to become a cliche) so, for the first time in my life, I watched the credits. That’s when I realized it takes a lot of freaking work to make a movie. I couldn’t believe the amount of names I was looking at and all the different jobs. I was in total awe. I turned to my father and asked him, “Do people get paid to make movies?”

“Yes,” he respond, not really paying attention.

“Can you major in movies?”

“Yeah of course,” he said. And that was it for me.

My entire life flashed before my eyes. All of a sudden my life made sense. Everything I loved could be traced back to making movies. To this day, I’ve never experienced anything like it. You could say it was love. I would say that.

The truth is I never actually wanted to work at Toys R Us. It was frustrating racking my mind every time an adult asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” So I came up with a semi-truthful answer that seemed to appease the masses.

But after I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, my answer changed forever. And on the days freelancing brings me down, I remember this day. I remember my twelve year old self. I remember I have the coolest job in the world. I get to make movies for a living.

Uddin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a writer, director, assistant director, and casting director based in Brooklyn.

In 2021, I graduated from NYU with a major in filmmaking. While coming into the workplace during the midst of the pandemic was not the easiest, I’m proud that I’ve managed to find my footing as a collaborator and friend in the filmmaking community. How lucky am I that I get to make movies with my friends?

As a writer and director, I focus on stories that make people feel taken care of. I can’t help but feel obligated to bring light into this world. We’re all going through so much as it is.

Now, when it comes to assistant directing, I believe in three principles. #1 Every crew is different. You gotta know how long things usually take and then you gotta be able to throw all that out the window. Some directors prefer the David Fincher method and go for an incredible amount of takes while others follow the Clint Eastwood way and shoot just one. (Is this something they are conscious of while shooting? Probably). #2 Food is king. This is technically a production issue but it’s good to keep track of how much folks are eating. A happily fed crew is an efficient crew. And lastly, #3, we have the best jobs in the world. I like to always remember that we have the luxury of being creatives and not doctors or firefighters or some other job where lives are on the line. So take a deep breath, be nice to the green PA or the experienced cam op who’s having an off day. It’ll all come together. (And a sneaky #4, a sense of humor goes a long way. Nobody wants a grumpy AD. The tone is yours to set).

In terms of casting, I do my best to give the director who they’ve described to me while also providing other options. (Most stories don’t actually call for specific races which gives me room to play). Once the self tapes and auditions come in, I don’t just look for folks who nailed it, I’m also keeping my eyes open for potential. Being good at self tapes and being a good actor don’t always go hand in hand. I like bringing back actors who just need a little bit of direction; sometimes they knock it out of the park and get the role! Often, I cast the projects I AD which gives me a deeper insight to the director and the actors’ process. Plus, it’s fun to show up and actually get to know the actors I cast.

At the moment, the first feature I ever worked on, BEARS, is doing the festival circuit. There are too many shorts to name currently in pre-production (including one I directed for Blackmagic Design). But I’m always posting about my projects!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Perhaps this is a story that better showcases my friend Scott Woods’ resilience but it’s one of my favorites.

It’s the middle of February in 2023. A bunch of early and late 20 somethings are making their first feature ever; it’s called Bears. This is my first time assistant directing and it’s Scott’s first time directing, producing, and writing. Two hours into day one, everything is going fine. The movie features five actors: two girls and three boys. And it’s a true ensemble movie. It is rare for there to be a scene in the movie without all five characters.

Both girls were called at 8am. The boys’ call time is 12pm.

At 10:30am, an hour and a half before his call time, I get a text from one of the guys. “Hey Uddin. I got cast in another project. I can no longer do the movie. I’m sorry.” Two hours into a nine day shoot and we’ve already lost one of our actors. This is bad. I think about it for a moment. Then I head to the living room, where the majority of the film is shot, “Hey Scott, can I talk to you in the hallway?”

He’s busy talking to our DP Carrie Stalk. “Yeah give me a second.”

“Now Scott.” He comes outside. I show him the text. Scott goes pale as a ghost.

Before I lose him for good, I put my hand on his shoulder, “You’re gonna play the role.”

Slowly the color in his face comes back and there’s once again light in his eyes. “What?” he whispers.

“Scott, if there was any role you were going to play. It’s this one. You’re going to kill it. Go talk to Anthony [de Rita, our costume designer]. Find an outfit. Carrie and I will have eyes on the monitor. We got you.”

And that’s exactly what happened. I told Scott months later that I didn’t come up with that solution in the hallway. I already knew before I called him outside. When it comes to a problem like that, you have to have some type of solution. You can’t go into a conversation like that empty handed. (And Scott did it kill it by the way).

We spent the next nine days with our director in front of the camera. Carrie, Scott, and I quickly melded minds to make sure every take followed his vision. Even with such a crazy change, we never went over once.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

This is such a cliche but sometimes when I’m really struggling, I rewatch The Gap by Ira Glass. They showed us this video when we were freshman at NYU and I’m pretty sure I now have it tattooed on my bones. Essentially there’s this snippet from a Current TV interview where Glass talks about the skill-taste gap. He says that in the beginning, the things you make aren’t very good and it’s frustrating but that fact that it’s frustrating is good! It means you have taste. You can always get better at your craft, but you can’t teach taste. You just gotta take it day by day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.uddinfilms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubbim

Image Credits

Kathryn Baylor Photography