Hi, I’m Jama.

I’m a Somali-American cinematographer and director from Seattle.

I got into filmmaking through journalism. I was reporting, filming, spending time with people without always knowing what the story was yet. That way of working stayed with me. Paying attention. Sitting with something long enough to understand it a bit more before shaping it.

Most of my work sits between documentary and narrative. I move between independent films and commissioned projects, often working closely with directors and subjects on stories that require trust and time.

A lot of the work is character-driven. I’m usually in people’s homes, community spaces, or environments that already have their own rhythm. I’m interested in what happens in those spaces when you don’t try to control them too quickly. A lot of it is with underrepresented communities, especially ones I didn’t see reflected growing up, which is part of what pulled me toward this work.

Journalism shaped how I move through a space. It taught me how to listen, how to observe, and how to be present without taking over. I still carry that into the work now, even when things are more structured or time is limited.

Over the past few years, I’ve been living and working between places like Mogadishu, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, and Cairo. A lot of the time I’m arriving somewhere new and filming quickly, trying to understand a place while working inside it. It’s changed how I see people, and how I see myself in relation to them. It’s made me more attentive, but also more aware of what I don’t understand yet.

I also co-run Humxn Media, a documentary-driven studio where I collaborate with organizations and communities on more involved projects.

Right now I’m developing long-form documentary and narrative work, while continuing to take on cinematography projects.