Quran Squire

Director, RadicalMedia

Combining the soul of a poet with a raw aesthetic and spiritual sensitivity, Los Angeles-based writer, director and producer Quran Squire has been telling stories since the age of 10. A graduate of Morehouse College and Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television, the New Jersey native has garnered awards from the American Black Film Festival, Newark International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival for his surreal, supernatural-tinged narrative work. From short films to music videos, commercial projects and an upcoming feature film, the multi-hyphenate creative is constantly searching for beauty within darkness. He is represented by RadicalMedia in the UK.

As an African-American Muslim in New Jersey, how has your upbringing shaped your directorial approach?

Growing up, I was exposed to a real melting pot of communities and cultures. Historically, New Jersey was one of the cornerstones for the Black Muslim movement. But spirituality, more than religion, lets me discover things about myself that are deeper than the external physicalities. Writing and directing, for me, represents transcending those physical barriers.

How did you get into writing and making films?

My grandmother gave me my first camcorder aged 10. My friends and I would go around the neighbourhood, exploring things and trying to find the narratives.

I started writing poems in sixth grade and I was a journalist in high school. During my undergraduate degree, I was running around campus with a camera, doing profiles on people – I wanted to tell their stories. I went on to do a Master’s in Film at LMU. I was oscillating between writing and directing, but the universe always writes the path that you’re supposed to follow.

What inspires you about the concept of beauty within darkness?

I love filmmakers like Alejandro Inarittu and Guillermo del Toro who aren’t afraid to show the beauty in the darkness. I once worked in a funeral home, and there was something beautiful about being part of the process and helping families get through it. It’s scary and unknown, but also human. Death is something that we’re all going to have to face one day.

Blocks and Curiosities of a Quiet Boy deal with supernatural narratives, what interests you about that world?

Both of those films speak of treading the line between the physical and the spiritual world. In Blocks, it’s the idea of time travel, and Curiosities is about keeping memories alive through physical mementoes. There’s a human sensibility that’s beyond what we see in the physical realm. I’ve always wondered about it. Writing is a way of making sense of it.

How do you achieve your raw and naturalistic aesthetic?

A lot of my directing is world building, but once we get on set with all our tools, I’m not afraid to change the blueprint, that’s how you get authenticity. With narrative in particular, it’s not about the text, it’s the underlying messages of your scenes. Whatever you place emphasis on will determine what your story is. I mainly shoot on film - it makes each frame meaningful.

What does 2021 look like for you?

My first project with Radical, 8-Bit Memories, is due to release very soon, and I’m working on a supernatural pilot about a team of engineers investigating an oil spill off the coast of North Carolina. I’m also planning to make a feature loosely based on my grandad, who’s a drag racer.

Interview by: Selena Schleh

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