Meet Sarah London

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah London. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sarah , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome is a layered, complicated and elusive thing. It’s been difficult to diagnose throughout my 20’s, but in my 30’s I’ve conditioned myself to immediately recognize it.

For a lot of women-identifying people, IS (Imposter Syndrome) is somewhat of a new concept, but not a new feeling. Women-identifying people haven’t been told that their stories are important. It feels like only in the past 20 years have women been more comfortable telling their stories (which is wild, if you think about it). Prior to that, it feels like men told stories of what they ‘think’ women experience and feel. I’m not sure how we’ve let that go for so long! Tragic!

I’ve personally overcome IS by being an advocate for other people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen ads for people looking for black/women filmmakers to direct stories, and the amount of people (men) crying ‘discrimination’ in the comments because it’s ‘unfair’ to them. They really enjoy using the word ‘illegal’, a word that gives them a level of self-importance that their opinion is justified. And that’s IS rearing it’s ugly head when women run across these situations.

So I could deduce that feminism has helped me identify IS very quickly.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I wanted to be a paid director, but that role doesn’t pay the bills! I found an outlet that allows me to be involved in the film industry but is also an in-demand role: a post production colorist. It’s a bit of a Wild West role, it isn’t something you can go to school to become. But colorists make your movies/ads/commercials/music videos beautiful. It’s a job that’s equal parts technical and creative. I really love what I do.

But my heart belongs to filmmaking. In 2016 I released my first short film through my company Supertramp Films, and now in 2023 I’m releasing my second short film and a feature documentary about generational trauma and how it has personally affected my life and family… but told in a relatable way. I used to get really caught up in the idea of ‘success’ in Hollywood and how you can only be relevant if you make BIG projects with BIG budgets and BIG actors. None of that matters to me anymore, that’s fool’s gold. What’s most important is telling a compelling story in the most beautiful/ugly way possible.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I’m going to be SUPER honest here. Reading The Alchemist was a great launching pad for me on my journey. I think everyone should read it. I almost don’t want to go too far into why it was impactful. If you’re reading this, go buy it! I also highly recommend David Lynch’s Filmmaking Masterclass. I think often about something he said, “take ninety beautiful images. The most beautiful images you can think of, make sure they’re important to you. Now put them on a board on your wall… now you have a movie.”

Qualities and skills that have positively assisted my journey: knowing what I want, always updating my skillset, having a listener’s mindset.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Raise me in poverty.

The question being posed doesn’t say “what’s the greatest thing your parents did for you”, it’s asking the most ‘impactful’. Being raised in poverty gives you immense perspective and empathy. Poverty is a never ending economic cycle rooted in racism, gender and social injustice. At its more physical roots, it sits in lack of education and an imbalance of social classes. All things that certainly can’t be solved in one generation, but my parents were/are victims of it and I don’t fault them. The stigma of mental illness is also a HUGE part of the cycle, and my parents were/are victims of that, as well. It really shaped who I am (I can’t say if it makes me a good or bad person, but it makes me an empathetic one).

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