“I am genuinely extremely curious about people.” Sydney Lima’s newly-found cabinet of curiosities about documentary-making and storytelling.

Sydney Lima is a jack of all trades. As a journalist, presenter, model and filmmaker, she has been genuinely curious about the world around her since childhood. Growing up in London, Lima quickly became exposed to the metropolitan beauty of a fast-paced living, uncovering an obsession with observing people. “I have been in London all my life, and I grew up in the centre of Soho. I actually went to school between two sex shops, which definitely was something. I became really fascinated with observing the characters on the street, and how they changed depending on where you went. It is something very intuitive.”

Fresh off the heels of producing her third documentary with Channel 4 coming later in the year, Lima has found a stride in uncovering what lies beneath the ancient pillars of high society. Her very first documentary for VICE ‘The Most Expensive Rehab in the World’ quickly became viral for uncovering how the world’s 0.01% react to addiction struggles, and the caged isolation that quickly follows suit. “My background in creating documentaries allowed me to really dive into character study. Coming into this rehabilitation center as a London party girl and my first big documentary project, I quickly realised how much of myself I also had to uncover in order to understand those subjects and their feelings.”

Finding her footing into development of video, Sydney realised that this was her way forward if she wants to have full control over her content. “I had done a bit of writing and I enjoyed developing stories through that medium, however it all changed when I started filming and realised how dynamic it all is. I was able to translate feelings and emotions a lot more in depth so I never looked back. I am also a control freak, and video gave me a lot more control over my work. This was my calling.”

Dipping her feet into modelling was something unexpected in her teenage years. “I signed with a model agency quite late, because I would always get told I am too short. As I started getting jobs, the industry’s nature of rejection quickly started getting to me, especially as a young adult, finding their feet into this world and what I wanted to do. I quickly realised I want to have a lot more control over my work and career. I left and pursued media, and now I feel like I am ready to come back and have a full circle moment, as I am in a completely different place with myself.”

So, what next? “I am enjoying being across multitudes of media. As I begin to finish my Channel 4 documentary, I have been thinking about getting back to writing. I have been collating essays and writing about the process of coming of age as a woman in the age of technology, where everything started shifting from analog to digital, and increasingly open for consumption. My ultimate goal would be to take my curiosity and obsession with archetypes of character, and put it into a show that can live and breathe to share those experiences - what connects us and what makes us unique.”