You’d never know it from his calm, cool demeanor, but Amyn Kaderali thrives on drama. Not the personal soap-opera stuff, but that bittersweet intersection of comedy and tragedy where the most provocative and inspiring films originate.
Kaderali grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and got his bachelor’s degree at UCLA before finding his sweet spot in New York. He got his MFA in Directing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program, where he made his mark with Little Man, which garnered awards worldwide, including Best Short Film at the Slamdance Film Festival. He followed this up with Take the A Train, starring Kerry Washington (Scandal), which won a Kodak Cinematic Images Award, and Call Center, one of the first hit viral comedy short films on the web.
Ever since his days in NYC, Kaderali has always strived to tell stories that matter. His first feature film, Kissing Cousins, a provocative romantic comedy (featuring David Alan Grier and Jaleel White) won the Audience Choice Award at the Asian American International Film Festival. His short film, The Other Side, for PBS/ITVS’s Futurestates series delved into the controversial issue of illegal immigration.
Kaderali was honored to be selected into the Disney/ABC Directing Fellowship and was mentored by legendary TV director Mark Tinker. Soon after, Kaderali directed an episode of ABC’s Private Practice, starring Kate Walsh. Most recently, he completed the prestigious Warner Brothers Television Directors Workshop and is currently prepping his next feature film, Chokora, a story set in the slums of Nairobi.