Today we’d like to introduce you to Faris Shaharel.
Hi Faris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Back in Malaysia (where I’m from), I adapted a novel into a 40 minute film. I was in highschool at the time, and I simply made it for my classmates to reference it in their exams.
It eventually blew up on YouTube and it became a nationwide success; people starting using it for their studies and teachers were referencing it in their workshops!
Eventually, I ventured out into music production since I wanted to incorporate sound and film together.
With a multi-instrumentalist background, I began producing my own music which gained over 70K streams on Spotify! My music started playing on local Malaysian radio stations, it was featured on several Spotify and Apple music playlists too!
I decided to take this step further and apply for film school!
Before transferring to SCAD, Atlanta, I was a college student at Sunway University back in Malaysia where I started picking gigs as a freelance videgrapher for events! I’ve done shoots with the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Awards, The World Academic Council of Emergency Medicine, UPS, and many others!
My portfolio managed to score me a good scholarship at SCAD 🙂
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some parts of the journey were better than the other!
But for the most part, it hasn’t been that easy. The skills I acquired throughout my years of filmmaking were mostly from real-life experiences as the film industry in Malaysia is still developing. Which means, resources were limited.
Apart from that, breaking it to my parents that I’d like to pursue film as a career worried them. My dad’s an engineer and my mom’s a chemist and Ive got siblings that are doctors, or pilots.
…yea, it was a battle having to convince them to let me pursue my degree in film.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m still a practicing director. However, my strengths would be my cinematography and sound production.
I would say those are my MAIN attributes. Back home, I was known for my music. But right now, I’m more known for my cinematography as I took a little hiatus from my music.
However, once I get a better footing in my filmmaking career, I’ll be bringing in my music once again.
Currently, I’m working on my final senior capstone titled, “Hardstyle”….I’ll be directing that in a couple months 🙂 I’ll be composing my own music for it as well as writing the script!
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see myself as a director! I don’t plan on sticking to one place since I love travelling – filmmaking can take place anywhere 🙂
Who knows! I could be in New York, LA, perhaps somewhere in Europe, or maybe somewhere in Asia! or Southeast Asia!!
After graduating, I would like to start somewhere in sound design and get more real world experience under my belt.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://farishaharel.wixsite.com/faris
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faris_shaharel
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farisshaharel
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@farisshaharel
- Other: https://spotify.link/L62sSSiuLXb
Image Credits
Arianna Salandy
Fiona Berhe
Tyler Buffaloe
Amageo
