Profile
Image by Ultra is the creative vision of award-winning filmmaker and portrait photographer, Udemba McLean. Based in St. Catherine, Jamaica, our services include editorial style portraits, film production, content creation and social media management. Welcome to Image by Ultra® — Small Production House; Big Output!
Udemba's Story
Udemba's journey into Visual Storytelling began as a photographer. He would ask friends and associates to play characters in the stories he was trying to convey. He would tell them who their characters were on the day of the shoot, and direct them along the way as the story unfolded in real time. His approach to portrait photography began to resemble film storyboards, which eventually evolved into filmmaking.
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He began shooting and directing music videos but soon realized they were unfulfilling. He later found true creative fulfilment in documentary filmmaking. In 2022, he directed, filmed, and edited Reimagining Queen Nanny of the Maroons, a short film retelling the story of Queen Nanny, national heroine of Jamaica.
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The film has been showcased at New York University and the Essence Film Festival and has won three awards in 2024: Best Short Film, Best Film Highlighting Black Stories, and Best Low-Budget Science Documentary.