Safi Graauw

By creating films that aren’t in line with our expectations,

I want to have impact – adding positive narratives to society.

Safi believes film was never meant to be mediocre. Nor to be an easy copy-paste. It should document the exceptional, introduce a new perspective – and, who knows, make a change along the way. Therefore, he sees himself as a vehicle that helps to get stories out there that add something positive to the world.

His purpose-led way of working is rooted in his master’s degree. While studying Earth Sciences, Safi noticed how important messages got lost in incomprehensible academic lingo and scientific jargon. Why not opt for language everyone could fathom, so that crucial information would actually reach and be understood by more people? Ironically his professors served it to him plain and simple: ‘This is how we do it. We add knowledge to society. If you want to tell stories, go sign-up for a communication major.’

With his masters degree in hand, Safi skipped the last part. But he indeed became a storyteller. As a self-taught director, he uses pop culture as a carrier for environmental and social stories in both commercial work and fiction. And as pop culture got more diverse over time, he found his platform growing, offering space for new perspectives every day. Led by his beliefs, Safi doesn’t work from aesthetic, medium or form. The message is leading. And all the rest should serve that story. For every project, Safi goes searching for the best form to get the point through to his audience. Finding a unique vibe and narrative every time.

But whatever he makes, whatever his goal,

Safi aims to break with the expected, creating unique films that stick.