Toronto Arts Report Interview

Eli Meadow Ramraj at Massey College in the University of Toronto

Written by Rebeccah Love

Thrilled to be sitting down with Eli Meadow Ramraj @eli.meadow at Massey College, where he has started his Junior Fellowship this fall.

When asked if he was raised in a household that fostered creativity, Eli shares that his parents “got down on the floor with us to play Lego, turned their necks up to the stars when we were fascinated with space. They were with us completely in every phase of our interests. Geology! Animals! My family are mostly academics, but there was never any pressure to stay away from the arts.”

Early exposure to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson inspired Eli to write his first novel at age 9. By 13, he had self-published four novels. Moving often, between Singapore, England and Victoria, meant that “everyone you know gets ripped away from you,” Eli shares. “Stories become a refuge,” as were the make-believe games with his brother and friend, in which Eli learned the rules of narrative.

After his school in Singapore threw him a gala book launch, Eli wrestled with the question of who he was making art for. His early fascination with identity and performance led to high school interests in English, History and Theatre, and to directing his debut short film at age 18. Eli landed a full scholarship at UofT, majoring in cinema, minoring in philosophy and creative expression. Eli pushed to create more space for filmmakers in an institution defined mostly by academic research, while cultivating interests in Buddhism and meditation.

Joining me as a producer on my feature ‘Fortescue’, Eli then pursued a master’s in film directing in Berlin and a master’s in philosophy in London, orbiting questions of playfulness and self-transcendence.

Now pursuing a PhD at UofT, Eli will be directing a narrative feature while continuing his academic research in consciousness. He says the importance of art “shifted from being a vehicle for self expression to being an act of service for others.” Studying philosophy, he says, “ought to be more than scratching an intellectual itch. Today we go to psychology for advice, not philosophers. But under the jargon and abstractions, philosophy holds great wisdom with the promise to relieve suffering and help people live better lives.”

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