J A M E S  K E N D I   

D I R E C T O R

Contact:  jameskendi@gmail.com

I am a director and photographer who specializes in representing human connection. My career began with a National French billboard campaign. Clients include:  Vice Magazine, J Crew, BIG Magazine, XL Records, Ratatat, Domino Records, Aperture, Pitch Fork, The Cooper Union School of Art,  Samma Jewelry , and the Smithsonian Museum. 

I founded the menswear line, Kendi Ties, which was featured in Barney’s New York, The New York Times, GQ, Der Spiegel. I did all of the photography, creative direction, and  videos for Kendi Ties.

I wrote, directed, and produced Crocker, a narrative short film introducing the actress Bobbi Salvör Menuez.  I co-wrote, Mine To Kill, a thriller starring, Paul Banks, of the band Interpol. It was shortlisted for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

From 2016-2018, I lived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and made films about youth migration and gender, exploring why people relocate to improve their lives. I documented cocoa workers and cooperatives for the World Cocoa Foundation and development projects for Technoserve. My screenplay, Alex Abidjan, was shortlisted for the 2018 Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

Currently I live in Stockholm, Sweden.