Today we’d like to introduce you to Amelia Ray.
Hi Amelia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My interest in filmmaking began as a young child, making video sketches with my sisters. This continued throughout my adolescence, and eventually, my little hobby blossomed into a passion and a career pursuit. When I look closer, though, I can trace my love of documentation even further back in my family. I come from a long line of image makers–– whether or not they saw themselves as that. My Great-Grandmother’s polaroids are framed in my house, my mom filmed mine and my siblings’ childhoods on a camcorder and pressed them into DVDS, and I use my grandfather’s tripod when I take photos.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not! I’ve struggled with my mental health and anxiety my whole life, which often resulted in me being too afraid to try things to progress my education and/or career. Even the prospect of coming to SCAD once felt impossible to me– I did a summer program before coming to college, and I almost dropped out a couple of times because I was so overwhelmed with anxiety and panic attacks from being far away from home. Even to this day, I get anxious before every set; I doubt my abilities, I get in my own way all the time. But the love of the camera and of collaboration always saves me, and I often find that I am stronger than I know.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in cinematography for non-fiction film as well as digital and film photography. The thread that runs through all of my work is a fascination with the South. As hard as I try, I can’t separate myself from my upbringing in Alabama. My work has become an invaluable tool for me to make sense of my history and my complicated feelings about being a Southerner, and through it, I’ve come to a place where I actually feel proud to be from the South. I think there is a unique strength and resistance about Southern people, and that deserves to be celebrated. So much social progress and resistance originated in the South (out of necessity) in response to constant transgressive legislation, and it’s important to me to honor that. The work of Southern activists and artists is hugely important to my identity and the work that I make. Right now, I’m most proud of my thesis film at SCAD, “Portrait of MeMe.” It was a ten-month labor of love that I shot and directed. It’s about my grandmother and our how our relationship was impacted by my grandfather’s death. It’s also a love letter to the South and Southern women.
What do you think about happiness?
People make me happy! I think people are endlessly fascinating, unpredictable, and beautiful!
Contact Info:
- Website: ameliakray.com
- Instagram: @millierayroll
Image Credits
Blake Hunter
Amelia Ray
Steven Siwei Zhou
