We were lucky to catch up with Safeen James recently and have shared our conversation below.

Safeen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I think the most meaningful story to me that I’ve worked on so far was my Short documentary; Away from the Fields which was all about embracing the gift of dual identity that has been given to children of the Black diaspora. It portrays the comfort and contentment we find in each other whenever we feel too far from home.

I find my cultural background to be a really valuable part of my identity and I think storytelling around culture is an effective way to empathise with those who have both similar and cultural differences to us.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The start of my journey as a visual artist started in fashion and a focus on garments & their designs seems like necessary detail to hone in on, however I was far more intrigued by how the clothes are worn, who they are worn by and how style differs from group to group. It’s at this point I began to explore the side of fashion that allowed be to delve into themes of heritage, culture and tradition.

Since then I have always had a fascination with capturing cultural experiences and a lot of my research is around how people behave, relate and connect with one another. And how they choose to present themselves based on their cultural upbringing, the languages they speak and the communities they identify with.

My findings have always led me to beautiful pockets of vibrant people, rich stories and have more than often led me back to my own roots. So within all my work I feel compelled to tell nostalgic stories connected to my cultural identity and it’s especially a reward when the work I create can contribute to the discourse of the Black experience within UK culture.

Whether commercial or narrative, in whatever context, my films and photographs all show an eagerness to instigate a form of awakening about one’s identity and how they show up in the world.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The power of social media is something that I greatly underestimated. A good many of the people that I have worked with in the last year, whether commercially or collaboratively have been by way of ‘the DMs’.

The better I get at presenting my work online and strengthening my online presence, the more the right people are seeing my work.

The key is said to be consistency which I do believe but not at the cost of the quality of my work. I have found that though social media is a rapidly paced space to navigate, the right people will continue to expect something of value from me even if it doesn’t match the rate at which other creators churn out posts.

So no, I won’t be aimlessly posting content unless I think it accurately represents me as a creative.
But I also won’t be sleeping on the reach that social media can bring, when it comes to growing clientele and even crew/collaborators.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is all the knowledge I have gained so far from being exposed to different creative concepts, perspectives and interesting subject matters that I otherwise wouldn’t have looked into, if I wasn’t in this line of work.

The technical know-how to my job is always a bonus, but what I feel most fulfilled about, is the person I am becoming, having gained so many insights from some really artistic and intelligent people that my work has given me the opportunity to come across. With each brief comes a different team to get to know, a new theme to do more research on and another layer of culture to peel back.

Now I feel like a walking library of references pertaining to cultural identity, that I can pull from for my filmmaking and photography. And from a broader view, I am now hyper aware of how these less overt details that make up who we are, can influence how we interact. This is helping me to become more understanding and empathetic towards others and is gradually boosting my confidence around my interpersonal skills even outside of the industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://safeenthedream.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jehosafeen/
• Linkedin: https://w.linkedin.com/in/safeen-james