It’s a chilly Sunday night in SoHo. The restaurant is dabbled in warm, thoughtfully curated lighting. The tables are set with clean fine China, pristine silverware, white tablecloth, and a real-life burning stick candle. (A rare find in a city full of flameless tea candles) I didn’t intend on picking such an elaborate setting for this interview, but I certainly don’t mind. Elif arrives in a cheetah top and a top knot bun, showcasing her undercut. She’s effortlessly cool and sweet. The menu is fully in French so we decided to play it safe and order a cheese selection, with artisanal bread, very millennial lunchable of us.

Introduce yourself to those who don’t know you yet.

My name is Elif Fatima. I’m a writer, director, energy healer, and a practicing Sufi. I also play the frame drum a little bit. My family is from Turkey, so I come from a Turkish and Muslim background.

Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were an artist?

My artistic journey started with painting. As a child, I was really drawn to painting, I was really good in art classes. Then I pivoted to music. I just really loved creativity in general! I think it really gave me an outlet, but I didn’t really know what that meant as a child; coming from an immigrant family it was never a possibility to pursue art. It had to be a hobby so that was unfortunate because I was so good at it and I probably resent my parents a little bit [laughs] for blocking that part but it’s okay it was meant to be this way. I would say when something really clicked for me was in middle school when I got my first camera. I was really into photography, so I brought my camera everywhere with me. Photography was my first love and then in college I started exploring poetry, I started doing performances around my campus. It became my second love and then I changed my major to film- my initial major was sociology because I was really passionate about social justice issues. My freshmen year was when Occupy Wall Street happened, and then in 2012 Trayvon Martin. New York was really active, and I thought whatever I do has to be involved in some type of change because I’m not going to be a bystander that is just not in my spirit. Then I realized film was calling to me, so I changed my major. I didn’t have any skills in film [laughs] I didn’t know how to edit but I changed my major and that’s how my film journey started.

Do you think artistic abilities are innate or developed?

I think it’s both. I think everyone has innate artistic abilities because we are mirrors of the creator and God is the ultimate artist. As creation, we mirror God, so we are artists, and it needs to be developed because it’s a constant practice. When I do it every day it feeds my spirit and connects me to God. There are layers to it.

What is your formal art background?

I went to film school, but my program was film theory. We were analyzing, writing, and doing tons of essays. We weren't making a lot of films. There are film schools that are more hands-on production so I would say I’m self-taught. I actually made most of my films after I graduated. I did have some background though because I took some production classes, but it was not sufficient [laughs].

What role does the artist have in society?

I think this is a really important question to ask and I don’t think all artists ask themselves this. There is a question of art for the sake of art or art for the sake of the people. For some reason, I’m thinking of June Jordan, Audre Lorde, and Toni Morrison. All of these artists were heavily involved in revolutionary movements. I personally think art is for the people. Ultimately it would be great if artists had some sort of conscious awareness of how their art is impacting society. Is it bringing about more liberation, more justice, more love? Or is it bringing us back to patterns of trauma and pain? There is some art that I don’t fuck with. The question that I lead with is “How is this going to make my community feel?”

How does your faith inform your art?

My faith informs everything in my life. It is the foundation of my life. My belief is that God is one and that is “tauheed” in Islam and “wahdat” which is the oneness of creation. So there is that dance between the two. So for me because I believe in the oneness and unity of all creations of God and seeing how in society, we’re not necessarily practicing that, we’re not in the consciousness. A lot of my art is consciousness work to raise my consciousness to God's oneness and to the oneness of all creation because I think that is something that really alleviates suffering and brings in so much love. So for example, the first film that I made was a documentary about my Grandmother. She has a really cute relationship with her flowers and plants. She reads the Quran to them, she prays for them, she talks to them, she gently holds them, and has a really special relationship. She says it because they all remember God. They all say God's names. Even though they're not human, they're in this frequency of God consciousness. Even though their plants were at the same frequency. I was really inspired by her; she is like the coolest person.

What inspired you to become a film director?

So going back to how photography is my first love I actually wanted to be a cinematographer because I’m a visual storyteller at heart. I initially applied to college to study photography. Everything is visual for me but I noticed that yes- I could be a cinematographer, a great one at the but I wouldn’t have the power of determining which stories are getting told. I wasn’t interested in becoming a writer/director but I needed to get these stories out there. I didn’t see anyone doing it but I ended up loving it. So I got into directing and I told myself once I get my career going, I can still do cinematography and photography but I need to do directing because I need to have a say in stories about Muslim women, women of color, queer women of color, and immigrants. Honestly, some of it was anger, I was pissed off. I never got to see any representation, that’s insane.

How has your approach to the film industry changed over time?

The mainstream industry tells you that you can only tell certain kinds of stories that are going to make profit. In my MFA program they asked us “How are you going to pitch your project?” “How are you going to make sure they buy your work?” “Or that they want to work with you?” but I’m like how are they going to make sure I want to work with them? In the era of “Me Too”, all of these social movements are culminating, and structural changes are happening. I want to know if these producers ethically pay their workers. I want to know what policies they have on sexual harassment. For me knowing my worth and saying “no” to certain opportunities because it doesn’t feel aligned. Just because I’m at a certain stage of my career doesn’t mean I have to say “yes” to everything. Making space for opportunities that are aligned. Also I will say, giving my projects more time. I would rush myself and give myself pretty hard deadlines. When we have an idea for a film, we’re planting a seed in a garden. It needs time to gestate and grow. It needs space and I noticed that with my first documentary partially because I was depressed at the time [laughs] I noticed when it had time to breathe it blossomed really beautifully. When I rush projects I feel like I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for a festival or what have you. Filmmaking has always really been about me. Giving visual language to my experiences but also what I want to see in the world. My film “Loose Threads” is a short about a muslim woman who decides to get abortion against her family's wishes. I really wanted to see a Muslim woman be in her power and make a decision. There’s a scene where she’s riding a bike down the street feeling free with the wind in her hair. That scene was really important for me.

What is your film of all time and why?

This is hard. Okay, my favorite film is “The Color of Paradise” by Majid Majidi. He’s an Iranian Muslim director. He’s very informed by his Islamic faith, he’s also very connected to nature and portrays nature in his films as a way of connecting to God’s oneness. It’s one of my absolute favorites.

What is it about?

You just have to see it. [laughs]

Okay [laughs] added to my watch list. So what do you think makes a great film?

Oh you have some great questions, I need this for my journaling prompts! [laughs] I think what makes a great film is the story. I don’t care about the quality of the visuals. Obviously I love good visuals coming from a photography background but if it’s a film it’s about the story. It’s about how that story connects with people's emotions.

What do you think are the most important elements of filmmaking?

Screenwriting. Akira Kurosawa is one of my favorite directors and he said screenwriting is the foundation. Honestly a lot of filmmakers don’t agree, a lot of filmmakers might say directing is because they believe in the auteur theory - that directors are the authors of films which I don’t agree with. I personally think there is no hierarchy and the author is the director, writer, and the editor all at the same time because they’re authoring it in different stages of the project. So I would have to say screenwriting because if you don’t have a story you don’t have a film and knowing a story helps you to direct.

What’s your favorite day to spend a day off?

Roller Skating [laugh] I love roller skating, one of my screenplays is about roller skating but if I’m feeling lazy, I would spend the day cuddling with my cat watching Abott Elementary.

What advice would you give to baby Elif?

When you’re doing something, it’s amazing because you’re doing it. Not for any other reason. Your heart is unique, your spirit is unique- you’re a unique expression of God and that’s enough. You don’t have to do or be anything else. Trust that uniqueness and to let yourself have fun and joy in whatever you do.

Any final statements?

In this era of hyper individualism, people feel isolated from each other- especially post pandemic. I think connection is really important and connection and community can be hard and uncomfortable but I’ve been finding a lot of healing in connection and community. Hopefully we can move through discomfort together instead of in isolation. Community care is as important as self care, if not more. Healing that hyper-individualism and hyper-independence with saying it’s okay to be vulnerable even when you’re feeling down. It’s okay to show up.

Dinner with Elif

Akata