About sayef
In 2018, while working night shifts at a warehouse, Sayef Zaman began developing the concept for his debut feature film after watching the 2017 action thriller Wheelman. What started as an experimental action-film evolved into Probashi, a gripping urban crime thriller co-written with his brother, Nabil Zaman.
Filmed over two years with a skeleton crew in Queens, NY, Probashi began with no formal script—just a two-minute proof of concept, a DSLR Nikon camera borrowed from his sister Binita, and an Android phone. Sayef directed local non-actors, friends, and family members, eventually attracting film students and local talent to join the growing cast and crew. The result was a fully realized crime drama that earned critical acclaim and won multiple international awards for outstanding debut filmmaking.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Probashi from premiering before a live audience, Sayef remained undeterred. During lockdown, he wrote and directed Mr. Lockdown, an experimental short filmed at home. Despite facing censorship and shadow banning upon release, the film went on to receive national and international recognition, including screenings at Manhattan’s Kraine Theater and the first Bengali Film Festival of New York in 2023.
Sayef’s most recent cryptic short, A Road to Nowhere, continued this momentum—garnering multiple awards, including the IndieFEST Film Awards 2022 for "Creativity and Originality."
Sayef’s work blends guerrilla filmmaking, socio-political commentary, and esoteric undertones, carving out a distinct voice in independent cinema.
Currently, Sayef is working on his second feature , Walpack!, which has already received numerous accolades during its development stages. The screenplay has won awards such as the Ring of Fire 2024 for "Best Horror" and the New York Metropolitan Screenwriting and Film Awards 2024, positioning it as one of the most anticipated projects in his career.