We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jami Ramberan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jami, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
To date the most meaningful project I have worked on was a film called “Vote.” As a filmmaker, I seek to work on projects that inject a message of social change into the center of popular consciousness. “Vote” a poem by Suzen Baraka did just that. After hearing Suzen perform her powerful piece, I couldn’t wait to help tell her story visually. From the global pandemic to the harsh realities of police brutality, the events of 2020 were truly eye-opening. We had a reckoning with the atrocities of our past so that we can reconcile our future. Suzen’s poem conveyed a compelling message that articulated the urgency for people to use “our voice” and vote. Visually, I wanted to illustrate the historical and current injustices faced by marginalized communities in a creative way. I sought to compliment Suzen’s explosive voice with galvanizing archival and stylized images. Suzen’s personal story of helping her mother apply for funding to keep her small business open struck an accord with me. I thought about the countless people who are going through similar situations. I wanted viewers to see faces that looked like them, eyes that remind them of their family, friends, and neighbors. As a result, I included portraits of everyday people wearing masks to reflect our current condition with messages of activism and hope that support diverse and underrepresented communities. For me, “Vote” was a call to action to ignite people to seek change by wielding their power on the ballot. The piece also won a regional Emmy Award in 2020.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I always had a passion for the arts especially for music therefore my entry into visual storytelling was directing music videos, which sharpened my eye creatively. However I wanted to tell compelling stories that reflect the human condition. As a result, I decided to attend film school to help advance my career goals and aid in my personal growth as a filmmaker. I attended Howard University, the only HBCU with a graduate film program and that experience changed my trajectory. I learned that film could be a powerful tool to affect change and make a meaningful impact on the world. In addition to my own work, I wanted to create a production company that could support other filmmakers who had the same goal as me. In 2008 I launched my business Imajre Films. In addition to several music videos, I have completed films including international award winning film Silent Brave (2016) that focuses on the psychological effects of Military Sexual Trauma and “Everlasting, ”a sci-fi/ fantasy that examines how people cope with death through social media. My stories come from lived experiences and seek to find the beauty amongst life’s challenges. It is my hope that my work not only reveal truths but also informs and inspires.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
What is success? So, as a young person I knew I wanted to be successful. Growing up, the successful people I was exposed too were lawyers and doctors. I followed this career path from high school into my mid-twenties. I even obtained a very cushy job working on Wall Street. I thought, that was it, I’m nice and content. However I could not deny my yearning to be creative. One of my mentors saw that I was not completely satisfied. She encouraged me to apply to film school and make my then “”hobby” of filmmaking a career. It was a tough decision to leave the skyscrapers of New York and start all over. I couldn’t find work during this time and like many millennials had to move back in with my parents. Thank goodness for their support of my dreams. After film school, I was immediately hired to teach film at the collegiate level, a personal goal of mine as I had always loved working with young people. Eventually, I was able to staff my business and gain clientele and and happy to report that we are thriving. I’m grateful for my mentor for pushing me to pursue my dreams. Having support of friends and family has been significant to my story.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn was letting go of the need to be in control and do things by myself. Perhaps it was my experience as an only child or as a Leo (somewhat kidding) but I wanted to do everything myself. Filmmaking is collaborative by nature and I became stressed and burned out doing it alone. My business was stagnate for months before I was able to overcome this personal hang up. I think ultimately it comes down to trust. I had to learn to trust others expertise and creativity but eventually I found my tribe. By working with others, I have been able to make incredible award winning and innovative work that I’m proud of and expand my business and hire and support others. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jamiramberan.com
- Instagram: @jamiramberan
Image Credits
Kristina Sherk-Feature Image