Sid

Hey people, how are you? My name is Sahid Arfaan Yaqub, but working under the filmmaking alias Sid Arfaan. I was born on 29th November 1984 in Birmingham where I also grew up. My childhood took place in a neighbourhood called Handsworth under very harsh circumstances; my father didn't live with us, mom was raising me and my 3 brothers on welfare. Kids my age were flossing designer brands where I was wearing cheap stuff like Hi-Tec or other low brand shit, I swore as a kid, I shall not stay in the same situation forever and make something of myself.As my family moved out of Handsworth, we had settled in the Witton area at 14. I always enjoyed movies, apart from practising martial arts (I had to, I used to get the shit kicked out of me) movies was a really big passion for me. I was first enticed into acting, I saw De Niro in 'Taxi Driver' thinking "Wow, what an amazing actor", as well as Chow Yun-Fat in John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" which ispired me to be an actor. I had grew up watching Bollywood movies, mostly of actor Amitabh Bachchan, who is still to this day one of my favourite actors and onscreen/offscreen icons.During my time in Broadway School (The shittiest place ever) I proved my worth in drama class, hey I thought it was fun - it had helped me to pursue a career in a feild which Asian culture looks down on. Say you gonna be an actor will get remarks like "Why don't you be a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer?" But I kept my feet firm. Since my school was cheap and broke-ass, they never did media.As I began sixth form college (St. Philips Sixth Form College), I did a GNVQ in Performing Arts as well as an NVQ Level II in video production. I had picked up a lot of basic knowledge in the use of cameras, storyboarding and editing. Then my next two years at college I did A-levels including media, where I made my first movie 'Love, Murder and Betrayal' (2003), an opening sequence to a thriller for my end of year assignment. I got a B for my project, although heavily flawed, I had learned a lot about time, discipline and efficiency as well as avoiding downfalls in short filmmaking.For my second year I had written, shot and edited 'The Way of Shaolin' (2004); a short 5 min fly-on-the-wall documentary in which I had made about the Kung-Fu School where I practiced Steelwire Mantis style at. I was really proud of the outcome, as were my class mates and tutor and earned myself a well-deserved A.After spending a whole year at Manchester Metropolitan University (in Cheshire) studying Philosophy/film studies, I realised living away from home is fucking expensive, plus I missed my mom's cooking. Since then I have been working at RBS within the mortgage department as well as being in the process of making a movie (You can't quit your 9 to 5, that's reality). I hope to establish myself as a fresh, innovative filmmaker and hopefully break new ground in British cinema.The knowledge I have gained both academic and practical is quite useful to start off with something, but as I am embarking on this journey as a filmmaker, I am always eager to learn new things and extend my knowledge - as knowledge with an open heart/mind is the ultimate key.