As a child, Bin Abdulrahman recalls his father renting movies for his family to watch, and the more films he encountered, the greater his interest in the process of filmmaking grew. After he managed to get his hands on his family’s handy-cam, he began experimenting and creating short films with his brothers. He would direct them on the spot, jumping between cars or fighting with swords, and he would later watch the footage to identify areas of improvement. In the process, he developed a number of fond childhood memories that later inspired him to follow his passion and venture along a path toward becoming a professional film director. This journey has earned him a number of notable projects to add to his resume, allowing him to explore the art of directing for a number of different genres, cast sizes, concepts, and more. For instance, he has worked with talented musicians as a director for music videos like Jellyfish: Requiem for Marion, as well as for musical comedies like Film School Musical. He is also familiar with directing dramas such as The Scapegoat.
Danielle Denig, who worked on Jellyfish and The Scapegoat with Bin Abdulrahman, was astounded by the quality of work he brings to any production he works on, regardless of how large or small.
“I think Talha does a great job of giving creative freedoms to his production team and actors when directing, but he also balances that with outlining a clear, distinct goal that he is trying to achieve. For both of the projects that I worked with him on, he knew what overall feel each should have and was very clear with everyone when something wasn’t working well. I have worked with many other directors in the past, many of which wavered a lot during production and created a struggle for everyone involved. Fortunately, I have never experienced that working on any of Tahla’s shoots,” told Denig, Production Designer.
In 2016, he was approached about the unique opportunity to work on a proof of concept for a feature film project called Viral Night. His success on the project is undoubtably the reason that the film was given the green light to shoot in the Spring of 2018.
Viral Night depicts the haunting reality of a group of millennials that get trapped inside a Halloween rave when a mysterious infection begins to spread amongst them, turning them into blood hungry zombies. As this horrific tale unfolds, the events are being live streamed to millions of viewers around the world who begin to question whether or not they’re witnessing real events or an elaborate stunt to gain viewership. When this survival thriller’s producer, Carolina Sandoval, was looking for an esteemed director to carry her film concept toward success, she was drawn to Bin Abdulrahman’s remarkable reputation and approached him about the possibility of having him direct the film’s proof of concept. Bin Abdulrahman was instantly captivated by the intriguing plot line and upon reading the script, he began envisioning how he adapt his unique style of directing to the film’s storyline. Once his plan started to come together, Sandoval was confident that he was the right man for the job and together, they brought the story to life in the best way possible.
When determining how best to tell this story, Sandoval and Bin Abdulrahman agreed that shooting each scene using found footage would instill an appropriate sense of fear and realism into their audience. Found footage is a style of filming whereby the film’s footage appears as though it was discovered film or video recordings. Typically, the film’s events are seen through the camera of one or more characters. It involves a lot of shaky camera work and naturalistic acting in order to appear as if the footage is “raw.” Given the nature of the film’s plot line, found footage would heighten the underlying, psychologically thrilling question posed throughout the film – is this really happening, or is it a ploy created by the media? Bin Abdulrahman felt refreshed exploring this unfamiliar filming style and embraced the new set of challenges that it set out for him. In addition to trying his hand at a new genre of film, Bin Abdulrahman was compelled to work on this project because of the important message that the film is attempting to tell.
“It is a social commentary on the way that social media can affect someone’s behavior. When you put human beings in a situation like a zombie apocalypse, and then you place them under a magnifying glass before the world, a lot of moral debates unfold. It becomes even more interesting, then, to watch as your characters are faced with a life or death experience, not even realizing that they’re being watched by millions,” said Bin Abdulrahman.
Bin Abdulrahman began his work on Viral Night in 2016, working within an extremely tight timeline. Having only one month to shoot the footage, followed by two weeks of post production, he had to be at the top of his game for the entire duration of each stage. He is eager to film the full-length feature in the Spring of 2018, as are his co-workers. Having seen what he is capable of achieving in such a short, tight timeline, they are itching to experience his talents for a full length feature in a more suitable timeline.
As far as advice goes, Bin Abdulrahman has a lot to offer other aspiring directors. When asked about the secret to his success, Bin Abdulrahman advises others to continue to hunt for any opportunities that they can find in directing. He understands well that film festivals are an excellent way to meet other creative minds who share in your passion for film. Whenever he happens to meet someone who likes his film, he introduces himself and he networks.
“Making connections is vital in this industry. You always have to prove yourself by making a good impression, otherwise no one will notice you. Another piece of advice would be to surround yourself with positive people. Negativity is draining. Toxic people never help you accomplish anything and if you remove yourself from hostile environments and bad habits, your creativity will flow endlessly and wonderful things will start to happen,” he concluded.