There are some who believe I am a writer, a speaker, a podcast host, a teacher or an advisor.

There are others who may recall some expertise in strategy, media, advertising, communication or transformation.

But all that is a sideshow to my incredible film career.

Now the truth can be revealed about my acting, my producing, my “best-boying” and my “key-gripping”.

All three of my films were bought by and began streaming on HBO June 1 and here are the trailers for your viewing pleasure (for some strange reason I am not mentioned or spotlighted in these trailers…maybe they want to save the best for the subscribers!)

Life After: 

Shadows:

User Zero: 

Not a Nepo-Daddy!

There is a rumor drifting around that this amazing career of mine was made possible because I am a Nepo-Daddy who was given his break because the writer, director and editor of these three films is our elder daughter.

Rubbish!

If that was true, would I have been promoted from best-boy to key grip? Did it not require fortitude and talent to balance heavy equipment between two seats in the front of a U-Haul careening at 3 am through the streets of Brooklyn? Who could in rapid order deploy Uber to feed a cast of many at strange times? And my scene scooping some rice into a plate may have lasted only two seconds but they are the ones that Robert De Niro and others watch again and again for the deep subtlety and nuance of acting that transformed this movie.

Yes it is true that Ria always loved cameras as the photo above indicates.

And okay she may have some talent but it takes a special talent to see the Bollywood and Hollywood potential of a relative!

In order not to hog all the glory and to prove that I am okay with sharing the spotlight, here is a little bit about Ria from her website: https://www.riatobaccowala.com/bio

Now let me share some learnings that might be useful regardless of what industry one may wish to be a star in.

But first proof (not AI generated) of me being in the middle seat with the heavy equipment between the director and her other producer.

Learnings from my film career (and observing those of other talented folks like our daughter)

The creative arts including film in many ways is where transformation brought about by the shifts of multi-polar globalization, demographic shifts and technology are being played out in real time.

It is where the future of work is being defined.

It is the landscape where the upsides and downsides of technology from streaming to AI to mobility are being played out in real time.

Here are a few take-aways

A new ecosystem is enabling talent and are changing the rules of the game: The three movies our daughter made all cost less than $25,000 each and were enabled by the technology changes of the last ten years including: a) peer-to-peer marketplaces which enabled her to rent expensive equipment by the day, b) Airbnb that allowed for low cost location scouting and renting, c) low cost transport via Uber, d) fundraising through crowdfunding platforms, e) mobile video audition platforms to help cast key roles, and f) social media to support promotion. These are just a few of the factors among many more. 

A plethora of new ways to create, imagine and monetize are being turbocharged: Now even though it is a dual edged sword AI is providing amazing tools at low cost to millions of creators who did not have access to such tools. Simultaneously, Blockchain is empowering monetization in new ways and AR/VR as well as Epic’s Unreal Engine are enabling completely new forms of storytelling.

A big benefit of streaming is globalization and the launch of new voices: Every week many of the top shows in the US on Netflix are not made in the US but in Korea (Squid Games), France (Lupin) and many other places. If there was no streaming, our daughter's films would not be on HBO, which is no longer limited to a 24-hour linear calendar. YouTube is a global phenomenon and if you want to see amazing Noir programming try MHZ. The gatekeeper and the tastemakers are less and less important.

The media industry is in deep turmoil and maybe where the future of work and intensity of technological change is being most illuminated: The Writers Guild fought hard to ensure that AI did not replace them. As we have seen with the Scarlett Johansson and the Open AI brouhaha or the thousands of fake AI generated books on Amazon this is a very challenging time for anyone in the creative arts. As AI and other technologies advance, some of the ways the entertainment industry has worked for years may change the future for all of us. Specifically every talent is a company of one moving from gig to gig some of which last for hours and others for months (movies) or years (successful tv shows or broadway plays) combining different assignments to create a living. While there are many more ways for talent to be found and to promote themselves, it is also true that there is much more competition and building a brand, a network of relationships, a body of work, and a reputation for being easy to work with becomes important.

Persistence, Community, Luck and a Thick Skin are key: Our daughter has been on a 8 year journey which included being an assistant bringing in coffee and setting up calls (despite 3 education degrees and years of accomplishment at a well known tech firm), unemployment (writers' strike and in-between gigs), being lifted by community (other creatives, the unions, former bosses, and people pitching in for each other), luck (it matters in every career and so much of all of our careers are the chances we get), and a thick skin (rejection is central to the creative process).

Lots more learning but those are the keys.

One more thing I will no longer be at Cannes for Advertising since I now expect to be on the red carpet at the real Cannes…

When not being a major movie magnate Rishad does a few side gigs and hustles noted here: https://rishadtobaccowala.com/bio