Abid Khan

About me

About my career

My first position after graduating was as an e-learning developer for the Consortium of Education. The position involved designing and developing educational games and a mixture of programming and user interface design. This led me to a career path as an interactive designer.

I formed Eyefive Ltd a company focussing on digital design and video production. This led my career towards film and video as I worked on music videos, short films and pitch videos for advertising agencies. In 2021, this finally led me to produce and direct my debut feature, Granada Nights.

Granada Nights is a coming-of-age feature film about study abroad students and has already obtained industry recognition and awards at film festivals around the world including Breakthrough Film at Film London and head of Film4 announcing it as the Winner of Barnes Film Festival. The film will have a cinema and online release in 2021.

At Manchester Met, I studied BSc in Multimedia Computing and it really helped with the analytical side of filmmaking. Directing is problem-solving and there is a lot of overlap with multimedia computing. The ability to break down problems into manageable tasks and plan workflows is an important part of the process. My dissertation on nonlinear narratives is also evident in my work today.

I did a placement with Lloyds TSB and then later with Bill Freedman Ltd. I think it’s very important and encourage industrial placement or study abroad as a way of stepping into life after graduation. I learned project management skills but it was my personal development during the placement that allowed me to focus on my future career path.

My top tip for students

It’s important to trust your own voice and keep exploring the things that are interesting to you. Sometimes you’ll not know what your career path is but that’s okay as long as you follow your voice, focus on your goals and enjoy the journey to an unknown destination. No one makes it big after graduation, the idea is to take your time and enjoy the journey to wherever it takes you.

I’m inspired by

Richard Linklater, Hillman Curtis and Muhammad Ali.

Why I love Manchester Met

Freedom to pursue my interests outside of my main degree and the people you meet along the way.

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