Spotlight On: Baraka Elmadari

Encore Staff Writer
Sep 21
2 min read

Updated: Oct 4

Baraka Elmadari (she/her/hers) is a Detroit-based writer, filmmaker, and production coordinator.

How did you get started in the arts?

I was born an artist. Poetry is apart of Yemeni culture, so I was surrounded by artists growing up. Participating in my community is art. People are inheritly artists.

If you could direct/produce one show, what would it be, and why?

If I could direct any show, it would be Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf because there are so many ways to interpret that play.

If you could play one character in all of theatre or film, who would it be and why?

If I could play one character in all of theatre or film, I would play anyone in a Wes Anderson movie, especially in The Phoenician Scheme. I liked Micheal Cera's character alot. Wes Anderson's characters are weird and strange which is my forte.

Name two artistic role models and why you look up to them.

Two artistic role models I look up to are Mindy Kailing and Diablo Cody. I've always loved their style of writing. They write about the true girl experience.

What did you want to be when you were a child? Are you fulfilling that dream?

When I was a child, I wanted to be a ballerina, a rockstar, popstar etc. but I realized it was all apart of playing "dress up" and I just liked to pretend and perform. I am still working on finding my place in the world where I could play pretend again.

What is your artistic guilty pleasure?

My artistic guilty pleasure is Karaoke! You get to perform with minimal rehearsal or care.

What role/show/experience on your resume is most memorable and why?

The most memorable experience I've had was working on a feature film for the first time, To Live and Die and Live. I learned so much about what it takes to make a movie. There are so many people involved and it's truly a collaborative effort.