Kickstarting Your Animation Career: Insights From A Dreamer
Wahid Ibn Reza is an engineer turned award-winning filmmaker from Bangladesh-Canada currently living in Los Angeles, USA. He has thoroughly disappointed his parents by leaving the engineering field and pursuing a career as a screenwriter and actor. Before moving out of the country, he wrote over 100 episodes of television and several tv films and starred in numerous television series and films.
Since his graduation from the University of British Columbia, BFA in Film Production program, Wahid has been working in vfx/animation production for 10 years, with credits on Emmy-winning shows such as Rick and Morty and Oscar-nominated shows such as Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the last decade, Wahid has been part of some of the biggest productions in tv and film. As per IMDb Pro, the projects he has been a part of had 8.88B in the box office worldwide.
Wahid has also been continuously creating content on the side. He has a passion for writing in fantasy, comedy, action, and sci-fi genres. In North America, Wahid worked in short films in various capacities as Executive Producer, Producer, Co-producer, Writer, and Director. His films got screened at festivals such as Edmonton Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, International Student Film Festival Pisek in Czech Republic, LA Diversity Film Festival, Surrey International Film Festival, Golden Egg Film Festival in LA, Student Art Festival in Florida and Cinequest Film Festival.
He was the winner of the Best Student Film award at FFM-Montreal 2015 and Edmonton Film Festival 2015 for the short film Terrorist as the Producer. He was the winner of the Best of Festival Award in overall Student Production at SIFF 2014 for short, “What am I doing Here?”. Wahid’s pitch-contest-winning animated short film The Paranoid Cat got screened at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2016 in San Jose. His animated short Surviving 71 is currently in production. He is also a Writer-Director for the Oscar-winning organization, National Film Board of Canada (NFB), working on an animated short about the climate crisis titled The Last Glacier.
Wahid has been a quarterfinalist at Scriptapalooza (2018), ScreenCraft Animation Competition (2022), Filmmatic – Inroads Fellowship Season 6 (2023), a semifinalist at Script2Comic (2022), Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards -Diversity Initiative II (2022) and a finalist at NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge (2020). His original pilot was on the Red List in Coverfly for the Month of February, March & July in 2023. Wahid can constantly incept ideas, create detailed worlds, and produce engaging dialogues. He has worked as a freelance writer for companies such as Yellow Animation, Ferlyco, Wondery, Epic Story Media, Outfit 7, Bidaya Media, and Omens Studios.
Wahid is excited to announce a dynamic partnership with Statement Strategies, a leading public relations firm, specializing in the animation, VFX, video game and tech industries to introduce an all-encompassing Animation Spotlight Program. This innovative free program is designed to provide comprehensive support and guidance to aspiring animators, students, and professionals seeking to establish or transition their careers in the ever-evolving animation and VFX sectors. This is the pilot session conducted via zoom on Saturday, September 23rd at 12pm PT/3pm ET.
The engaging session includes:
● Wahid's Career Odyssey: An intimate exploration of Wahid's personal journey, including pivotal moments, challenges, and milestones.
● Navigating the Industry Landscape: An insightful analysis of the current state of the animation and VFX industries, addressing challenges and opportunities.
● Career Launchpad: Practical and actionable advice for students and newcomers on building portfolios, networking, and finding job opportunities.
● Transitioning Careers: Tailored guidance for professionals looking to pivot into animation, emphasizing transferable skills and strategic steps.
Participants also had the unique opportunity to engage in a live Q&A session with Wahid ibn Reza, enabling direct interaction and personalized advice.