The Spiritual and Artistic Dimensions of Ray Solace’s 'La Bayk' and Solace
Ray Solace is a filmmaker, creative director, photographer, and the founder of Solace, a creative platform rooted in exploring identity, spirituality, and creative expression. Through his work, Ray navigates both the deeply personal and the universal.
His debut short film, La Bayk, is a visual and spiritual journey, inspired by his transformative Umrah pilgrimage. The film reflects not only his profound connection to faith but also the compelling, almost unstoppable energy that drives his creativity.
For Ray, creativity is a dynamic force that exists across multiple planes, constantly evolving and demanding to be expressed in various forms. As he describes it, "The energy I associate with it... it’s beyond me. It exists in so many different planes, in so many different ways, in so many different executions and expressions." With Solace, he’s building a space that bridges personal reflection with a broader narrative, merging the worlds of art and spirituality.
La Bayk 2024
What moments drew you to photography, filmmaking, and creative directing?
Ray: I’ve been a creative my whole life. It started out when I was a kid. I really fell in love with drawing, sketching, and all that kind of stuff. But as I grew older, I began to feel a hunger in me that never satiated with any of the mediums I was doing. I wanted to tell stories in a deeper way, and filmmaking just felt like the next step. It was always such a daunting task, but alhamdulillah, I made it. La Bayk is my first film, and it’s a manifestation of my belief that faith and art can coexist in powerful ways.
What role do you feel storytelling plays in your identity?
Ray: Coming from a Bengali household and community, stories were a big part of growing up. Many cultures are like that—stories are shared as gifts. Storytelling has always been central to who I am. I find connections with so many people who preceded me. I listen to my father as he shares our family history, and I have vivid imaginations about people I’ve never met; I feel deeply connected to them. Thinking about that connection with those who precede me, I realize the importance of stories. This is always at the core of the things I create, whether through art, drawings, sketches, or photography. I often think about what story I’m trying to tell and how I can connect it to others.
Do you get a lot of inspiration from your family and cultural background?
Growing up, there was a lot of pressure to follow the academic path. My creativity was an antithesis to that. I’d be doodling when I was supposed to be studying. But in that limitation, I became more creative. My culture being so rich with history, played a huge role. As a kid, I didn’t always see it, but now I look back and realize that the most beautiful parts of myself are rooted in my culture. It was a juxtaposition, but my identity is deeply connected to it.
The Dua Project 2023
Your first film, La Bayk, is based on your Umrah experience. How does it reflect who you are and the stories you want to tell?
Our faith is so rich with stories, and I think we’ve been a little scared to tell them. My art and my faith come from the same place. They exist in the same parts of myself. When I’m at my most creative and when I’m praying, I feel similar emotions. No one ever told me how to understand those feelings or gave me the language to understand them, but I know they’re there. Allah intrinsically places that within all of us, and I believe there’s an inherent faith to creating.
La Bayk was a deeply personal film, and when we shared it, many people saw themselves in it, things they had never recognized before. It showed that art and faith can coexist. It’s about telling the stories we’ve been afraid to tell, but it’s okay to do so. That fear doesn’t make it wrong; it just makes it daunting. But when we take on that challenge, I believe the entire ummah will benefit, and I want to contribute to that.
What personal experiences and emotions led you to create La Bayk, and how did they shape the narrative?
La Bayk came at a pivotal moment in my life. At the end of 2023, after a year of success, I faced a moment of grief that made everything else seem insignificant. Around that time, the opportunity to go on Umrah presented itself, and I didn’t want to let go of everything I had learned that year about how my faith and art could coexist. I knew that my art would be the thing that saved me because it has always been for the sake of Allah.
The idea for the film almost wrote itself. I was feeling negative emotions, but I knew I was about to have a transformative experience. That week of filming and the Umrah journey were life-changing, and I wanted to make something meaningful from it. It became a universal story about healing, and I wanted to share that journey with the world.
Healing can take time, but I was granted the mercy of feeling it in just one week. I wanted to make something out of that. Alhamdulillah, it was as transformative as I hoped and expected it to be.
La Bayk 2024
Can you talk about the challenges you faced when creating La Bayk
Ray: The challenges were mostly internal. There is always fear about how our community, who are often marginalized and misrepresented, would receive the art. But I think that fear doesn’t serve creativity. Yes, there were doubts, but they were always internal voices and, in ways, voices that were not our own. Ultimately, we were honest in our perspective, and that’s what made it special. The film connected with so many people, and I have no regrets. It did exactly what it needed to do.
Can you tell me more about Solace and the team behind it?
Ray: Solace was born in 2018, around the same time I picked up a camera. Initially, we were just a group of creatives, and like many young creatives, we wanted to form a collective. We spent a long time trying to come up with a name, but "Solace" always resonated with me. It became our name, and we’ve since turned it into an official business. We’re taking it seriously, and it’s been an incredible journey of growth. The team has expanded since then; my business partner Shavez handles logistics and is the executive producer, while I focus on the creative side. Our team now includes Rayed, our DOP; Aaron, our assistant camera; and Tiger, our graphic designer. Solace has become more than just a business—it’s a family that grows with each project.
I’m really proud of my team and love them so much. What started as something very personal to me is now something I get to share with my brothers. We grow with each project, and the team gets bigger. Right now, we’re working with a producer from Digitaal Studios, a group of girls of Somali and East African descent who want to tell stories from their communities. Every project helps Solace grow as we work with new people, creating a beautiful little family. I want Solace to be a family affair—not transactional. When you join us, you’re not just working with us; you’re breaking bread with us. We’re a small team of five right now, but I’m looking forward to us becoming 10 by next year and 20 the year after, InshaAllah. I pray that Allah keeps connecting us with amazing people.
La Haine Project 2023Collaboration seems to be central to your work. How do you cultivate connections with others who share your vision and values?
Ray: Collaboration is key. We can't move forward as a community unless we work together. People often think opportunities are above them, but it’s really about working alongside others. You don’t network upwards, you network sideways. Creativity isn’t something you can do alone. This work is built on camaraderie and community.
I don’t just want to work with Solace; I want to work with others who share similar goals so we can all succeed together. There’s no competition—only healthy competition to grow. London is full of inspiring creatives, and I love supporting and working with them.
To communicate this vision, it’s about shared values. Finding people who align with your values makes collaboration easy and effortless. Values drive creativity, and when you connect with others who share them, it’s easy, it’s light work.
Your work often explores themes of belonging. How does your experience as part of the South Asian diaspora shape those themes?
Ray: Coming from the South Asian diaspora, it’s a rich, vibrant community, but also one that’s still in its infancy. There’s a lot of growing to do, especially within the community, and I think it starts with kids like us breaking down barriers. For the longest time, expectations were placed on us, whether from our families or culture, to become doctors, accountants, engineers, or to meet Western standards of "cool" and fit in. The South Asian diaspora is still evolving, and it turns out we’re more than just doctors and accountants.
For the diaspora, there’s so much to offer and so much history. Our bloodlines are filled with creatives, poets, seamstresses, and more. Representing that has been incredible. Last year, we did a project called The Heritage Project to celebrate our community and what it means to be brown in this world. People saw themselves in it in ways they never had before. Through that, I connected with so many amazing brown creatives I hadn’t known before. When we create together, it unites us with others who share the same values. There’s definitely a wave coming, and I’m excited to see all the doors it’ll kick down. I love the responsibility of it, especially because it’s still in its infancy, so fresh and new. I can’t wait to see where this wave goes.
The Heritage Project 2023How do you hope your work inspires other Muslim artists navigating their creative and spiritual identities?
Ray: I mentioned earlier the fear of entering new territories, whether within ourselves or the world we live in. We've been misrepresented for so long—through media, news, everything. Tackling that has always been scary, and we've lived in a safety net, thinking we don't have to perform for others. But there are so many ways to represent ourselves properly. If I can just play my part, I hope to help break down boundaries and inspire others, whether people around me or those just starting out. If I can make something that heals the fear in our community, I’ll feel like I’ve done my part.
I have every intention of achieving success to the highest degree. Not for frivolous reasons, but to be of service. What good is any of this if we’re not in service? I want to show us in ways we haven’t been seen before. It’s not about humanizing us—we’ve always been human—but it’s about making things that truly represent us and offering that to the world. That’s what I hope leaves a mark.
What is the legacy you hope to leave, and for Solace?
Ray: My art and my faith come from the same place, the same source. There’s an instinctual nature to creation, and I trust that. It’s scary, but it’s something I trust. I want to give people the ability to trust in themselves. This Iman, what’s within us, can guide our actions. I hope my legacy will be about trusting ourselves and being more than what people tell us we are.
For Solace, I want to achieve success to the highest degree. I want to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes, an Oscar for Best Picture. I want to show that it’s possible no matter where you come from. The legacy I want Solace to leave is showing people that they can see themselves in places they never thought possible—and know it’s achievable. But it has to be for the right reasons. For me, the right reason is to do it for the sake of Allah. To do it as an act of service to the things that I love. My community, my people, my faith, my art.
La Bayk 2024Keep up with Ray Solace
