Meet Miles Naasir Reuben

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Miles Naasir Reuben. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Miles Naasir, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I keep my creativity alive by living life. By moving through life openly, optimistically, and authentically. That may not be everyone’s process, but it’s mine. If I have difficulty being creative, I take breaks and sit back. I have to go into my environment and my community and live in it for a while. Then, when the urge hits me, I come back. I get inspiration from my experiences and observations.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a filmmaker – notably, a film director, screenwriter, and producer from Detroit, Michigan. I am also the Founder of filmTOY Studios, a motion-picture company in Detroit. I’ve always let my inner child take over when creating, so my goal was to create a studio where nothing felt impossible. Where any film can come and be told. Where you can go in and build a world like your inner child playing with your toys (hence the name).
I strive to make films from my heart with something to say. That challenges norms of what people can do with the art form and answers how we can develop underrepresented folks in underrepresented communities in filmmaking. I come from a city where we have to hustle to create what we need and to survive. I’ve had to hustle and learn how to make films of high quality untraditionally. I want to use my platform to make it easier for others to not jump through the hurdles I had to to learn and grow.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three things I live by are to be a student, to be open-minded, and to be myself.
So many people are pursuing filmmaking, and I think your authenticity will always make you stand out more than anything, so I’m myself, even when I get “no’s” or when someone doesn’t see the vision. You got to believe in yourself, and you got to study the craft enough to know what you can bring to the table because this industry can make you feel like you’re not enough. Don’t be arrogant about it, but you got to be authentic to yourself always.

That’s what I live by. A little bonus rule for folks early in their journey: keep your ear to the streets. Most of the time, you’ll make it to the top with people who are around you now. When you reach the top, you may hit a point where the industry can’t give you what you need. Always stay tapped into what your city, your culture, and your community is doing. Those will be the people who have your back the most.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think it’s better in filmmaking to do a combination of both. Film is a vast ecosystem with multiple tasks and jobs. I think it’s essential to have knowledge and skills in various roles to be well-rounded and know what to do for yourself if or when your resources are low. Indie filmmakers have to know and do a lot for the sake of efficiency and lack of resources, and being well-rounded and open-minded to learning new things can help with this.
I think you should manage this with the goal of going hard on your strengths. As a director, I watch movies all the time. As a writer, I read scripts from all genres. My whole Youtube history is filled with video essays of film breakdowns. You don’t have to do what I do, but studying your craft is vital to improving your strengths, in my opinion – so that’s what I do, and that’s what I suggest to folks.

You also have to apply that knowledge in the field, or all of it is just theory in many ways. If I didn’t take the leap of faith and direct with just the tiny amount of knowledge I had, then who knows where I would be?

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