Ami Keita

Casting Direction

Apr 30

Written By WÜL Magazine

Casting Director Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Ami Keita is a Casting Director born in the Netherlands and made her way to Amsterdam when she was 18. When Ami graduated from art school, she often asked to help with casting extraordinary faces for various projects. In 2020, she founded GEM faces, a modeling agency that provides castings and collaborates with young and thrilling photographers. Since Ami started casting, she found her unique way to discover gems among people's faces. Faces she felt were missing in advertising and fashion, yet very important to identify oneself with.

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My interest lies in finding the extraordinary among ordinary things, in every sense. People have always been the main subject in my work. Looking back at those days now, faces that caught my eye were the ones that were missing in the media world. The lack of variety of people in media, such as different cultural backgrounds, sizes, and subcultures, made me interested in exposing those types and characters.

‘I wanted to identify myself and my friends with people I see in the advertising. Familiarising the commercial world with new types of faces and expanding their horizon on what beauty can be.’

I cast for commercial brands and represent a range of diverse faces and models in Europe. I also produce portfolio shoots for my models quite often. I like to stay involved in the creative process wherever I can: realizing ideas as a casting or creative director and working closely with photographers. Meeting new people and creating imagery together is what excites me the most. These things speak about the Zeitgeist we live in and, above all, help me express my values.