BIPOC-owned creative studio, production and postproduction company Scheme Engine has added Kenyan director and artist Amirah Tajdin to its roster for U.S. representation in commercials while handling her globally for music videos.
Born and raised in Nairobi, Tajdin takes pride in being Black, Arab, Kenyan, Muslim, an aesthete, and a woman most of all. Tajdin spent her teen years in Dubai and received a BFA in South Africa and Baltimore. Her work is informed by a unique global perspective, her mixed lineage, the feminism of her rebel grandmothers, and the lived experiences of her characters. Tajdin’s stories are captured with a remarkable eye for style and show an infinite variety of women.
Tajdin’s prolific career in commercials, fashion films, documentary and narrative projects includes work for brands such as Cadillac, Bloomingdale’s, M.A.C, Virgin Mobile, Pepsi, Maybelline and The Louvre Abu Dhabi. Her brand film Sisterhood: Action for Girls Who Code was a Tribeca X Award finalist in 2019 and garnered a Best Director nomination; her short film Marea di Tierra competed at festivals globally, including at Sundance and Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Tajdin is a Sundance Institute Fellow, selected for both the Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab for her feature film currently in development.
Tajdin said, “It’s rare that a director like myself who isn’t the expected norm gets to be part of a tribe like Scheme Engine. It’s even rarer when the tribe in question is a BIPOC-owned production house with an inspiring track record despite being one of the newer kids on the block. I’m excited for this new chapter, not just in my career in the U.S., but for the new world of storytelling I get the privilege to delve into with an incredible team behind me.”
Scheme Engine CCO Devin Amar said, “Amirah is a force and a risk taker. She’s broken a lot of boundaries as a filmmaker, as a woman of color and a director growing a career in the UAE. Her creative approach to navigating identity in storytelling makes her a perfect addition to our roster.”
Scheme Engine EP Jannie McInnes added, “We were captivated by the rich array of Amirah’s subjects across multiple genres. They are largely women – all ages, diverse cultures, beautiful, tragic, funny, badass, from teen coders, to Bedouin craftswomen, C-suiters, and migrants. Each is given deep respect, in amazing visual environments that give these stories a casual royalty.”
Scheme Engine becomes Tajdin’s first career roost for U.S. representation. She serves as the creative half of SEVEN THIRTY Films, an indie production company which she founded in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2011 alongside her sister, producer Wafa Tajdin. Amirah Tajdin is repped for commercials internationally by RadicalMedia (London and Berlin), and Loveboat (Paris).
