Jamal Gzem abandoned a successful career in finance to pursue his true passion: street photography and filmmaking. Whether in Paris, London, or Sydney, his portraits are powerful and the stories of people he meets by chance are faithfully told. His work, widely shared online, highlights human connection and emotion. He simply reminds us that we are all the same, yet all unique.
From the streets of Paris to London, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo, Jamal Gzem seeks connection with strangers, stories and human experiences through his passion for photography. The Paris-born photographer believes that everyone has a life story worth telling. Through spontaneous street encounters and intimate portraits, he captures these experiences in images. On his Instagram account, Jamalmadeit, he shares these encounters with the world. Each one, he says, is a reminder that we are all the same, yet all unique.
But before becoming the street photographer he is today, Jamal had a completely different path. Raised in the Parisian suburbs by Moroccan parents from the Souss region, he followed, like many others from immigrant families, a predictable route. He studied finance at a business school in Nantes, Brittany, to build a stable career.
"I got my degree, worked in Zurich for three years, then moved to Sydney to continue in finance, at a French bank," he recalls.
Yet behind the spreadsheets and meetings, another calling grew stronger and stronger. "I was working in finance, but I've always been passionate about photography and filmmaking," he says. This passion first took root during his student years in Nantes. "It was the first time I used a camera, flew a drone. I absolutely loved it. I was doing it every week," he remembers.
In 2020, everything became more concrete when he bought his first camera. From that moment, he began filming and practicing regularly, refining his craft. Then he discovered Sydney, with its vibrant landscapes and relaxed lifestyle - fertile ground for creativity. "It's very different from Paris or Switzerland. There's so much to see and capture. I had all my weekends to travel."
Eventually, his creative passion took over. In January 2025, Jamal left his finance job to return to France to spend Ramadan with family. "For years, I had thought about leaving finance and starting to make films full-time," he explains. "That's what I finally did."
The decision wasn't easy, however. "In our culture, financial stability is important. That's the biggest mental obstacle," he admits. "That's why I believe it's important to save first, so you can fully dedicate yourself to your passion."
Back in France, Jamal began building his dream life. He plans to work with companies and content creators, but also to produce his own content. "I love talking to people, I'm a very social person," he says. "But I didn't want to do photography only in a commercial context. I also wanted to do it for fun, with people on the street."
This is how his street photography project was born. "The day I decided to start, I simply took a train to Paris, walked for three hours, and filmed my first episodes for social media," he remembers. "The response was incredible. I received so much love and support from people I didn't even know."
Since then, he has taken the project to cities like London, Madrid and Lisbon, sometimes during Ramadan. He walks four to five hours without food or water, just to meet strangers. In his videos, Jamal asks people if he can take their portrait, while recording their interaction. What starts as a simple question often becomes something bigger.
"People open up, sharing a struggle, a dream, a message or a painful experience," he says. "It's really difficult to approach people and get them to confide, especially when it becomes emotional," he admits. "I've released 161 episodes so far, but I've probably done 300 to 400 portraits. And I've received about 2,000 to 3,000 rejections, probably more," he adds.
But that, he says, is part of the process. "Having done it so many times has helped me not take rejection personally. That said, you can't completely ignore your emotions, especially when someone shares something sad or inspiring," he says.
One of his most touching encounters was with Youssouf, a Parisian street sweeper from Gambia, whose dream is to go to Mecca. "It was personal, pure, something many people kept secret. But when people confide like that, the photo becomes more than just an image. It's a story."
The video went viral, triggering a wave of donations via GoFundMe that helped Youssouf get closer to his dream. Through these encounters, Jamal has reached a simple but meaningful conclusion: "We all have emotions, hearts, stories, but our experiences shape us in very different ways."
And it's not just his audience that's impacted. "When I post a story, the person is often overwhelmed with love and support from strangers," he says.
While his fieldwork nourishes him, Jamal also runs a photography and filmmaking business, primarily in Sydney, where he is now based. "I work with brands, companies, entrepreneurs and content creators. Demand for videography is strong, and Sydney is a great market."
Although living in Australia, Jamal hasn't lost sight of his roots. At 27, he dreams of taking his portrait series to Morocco, and perhaps capturing people's stories in Tachelhit, his parents' native language.
In pursuing his passion, Jamal has learned that we should all talk to strangers. "It's something everyone should do," he says with conviction.
