Shams Fareed

Born and raised in the Buffalo/Lackawanna, New York area, Shams Fareed discovered a passion for storytelling while still in high school, where Shams Fareed began writing both songs and stage plays. Years later, that creative instinct would lead Shams Fareed into filmmaking and to the creation of a first screenplay, Blck Xmas.

The idea for Blck Xmas came from an unexpected place—a late-night Uber drive.

While behind the wheel, Shams Fareed suddenly imagined what would happen if an ordinary Uber trip took a terrifying turn and ended in a kidnapping. The thought didn't disappear when the ride ended. Shams Fareed kept thinking about it, expanding the idea, developing characters and imagining increasingly unpredictable possibilities. Eventually, that single late-night thought evolved into the psychological thriller Blck Xmas.

With Blck Xmas, Shams Fareed takes the warmth and familiarity traditionally associated with Christmas and turns it upside down, using the holiday season as the backdrop for something darker, disturbing, unpredictable and psychologically intense. Beneath the suspense and thrills, the story explores deeper themes involving racism, entitlement, cruelty and what can happen when another human being is treated as something to be possessed rather than as a person.

Influenced by films such as Get Out, Shams Fareed approaches storytelling with a style that can be funny, unpredictable, clever, edgy, emotional, realistic, dramatic and imaginative—sometimes all within the same story.

At the heart of that approach is unpredictability.

Shams Fareed doesn't want audiences simply watching a story unfold. The goal is to keep them wondering what's coming next, where the story could possibly go and what might be waiting around the next corner.

Blck Xmas marks Shams Fareed's first screenplay and introduces Shams Fareed as a creator, writer, producer, filmmaker and actor. Shams Fareed also steps in front of the camera as the film's central character, Lamont, also known as “Hip-Hop,” bringing a character created on the page to life on screen.

And Blck Xmas is only the beginning.

Shams Fareed's creative vision isn't limited to one genre. Future projects are envisioned across horror, comedy, science fiction, urban stories, romance, documentaries and action. The larger goal is to create original theatrical and streaming projects, build a growing catalog of film and television properties, establish a studio presence and create opportunities for other talented creators and performers.

No matter the genre, Shams Fareed wants audiences to associate the name with imagination, originality and one promise: