Less is More, even in Fashion and Beauty. May 14, 2012
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I found the following quote from Emma Watson, the actress co-star from Harry Potter films fascinating. I have nothing to add.
I find the whole concept of being ‘sexy’ embarrassing and confusing. If I do an interview with photographs people desperately want to change me – dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there’s the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that’s not me. I feel uncomfortable. I’d never go out in a mini-skirt. It’s nothing to do with protecting the Hermione image. I wouldn’t do that. Personally, I don’t actually think it’s even that sexy. What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt, have a look at everything I’ve got?’ My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder.
- Emma Watson
Ideas that will change Everything April 5, 2012
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“What game changing scientific ideas and developments to you expect to see?” is the question that John Brockman posed to over 100 of the world’s most influential minds.
These ideas are compiled in his book, “This will change Everything: Ideas that will shape the future.” It is an interesting read, to get a taste of what some of the great minds conceive. In the world of Quantum Physics there is the potential to create Quantum Computers, search engines that will deliver just in time wisdom. Unprecedented computing and storage will allow the brain’s algorithms to be replicated, in the same manner that human DNA has been sequenced. From DNA, we move to personalized medicines, nano-technologies, intentionality detection, and the quest for doubling lifespans leading to the goal of virtual immortality. The ideas then take-off into different galaxies, and the potential to meet other life forms. Back to earth, and we will have robots we would want to spend more time with. The Information Age will be replaced with the Reputation Age, where how others value or rate an item or individual will be the primary way to obtain information.
For some ideas, the writing maybe on the wall; they may lead to tangible results. Others are visionary, maybe not see in our lifetimes or lead to anything, but the process may still be of value.
No single idea will change everything from the economy, politics, human relationship, and all the other spheres that impact us. However, a couple of ideas struck a chord with me. Haim Harari, a Theoretical Physicist, mentions there are 6.7 Billion people in the world, and of those 4 Billion are not participating in the knowledge revolution.
This is due to poverty, illiteracy, and other social issues. He is surprised that distance learning and all the technologies around it have not played out to their potential. Both as a problem and an opportunity, the numbers are mind-boggling. Chris Anderson, Curator of the TED Conference, talks about how if humans were able to contribute more than consume, a kind of personal balance sheet, that would be a huge leap forward for mankind. However, to unlock this potential people need knowledge and inspiration. Roger C. Schank, an artificial intelligence theorist, speaks to the power of narrative. He mentions, in times gone by elders, shared stories with the young, especially those that might be relevant to their needs. With the shift to nuclear families and technological advancements, the wisdom that was passed from one generation to the next has been lost. Ideas and Inspiration can be the source of unlimited potential, so I will leave you with some.
Charles Dickens in his famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven,….”
The Actor and Director Alan Alda, doesn’t believe anything will change everything, except if we learn to live with one another. These may or may not be the ideas that change everything, but even if your ideas make a difference in one individual’s life, please share it.
By Javed Mohammed, Community Architect, Spigit
Checkout Islamic Science Rediscovered at the TechMuseum November 26, 2011
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We finally made it to the Islamic Science Rediscovered exhibition at the TechMuseum.
A lot of thought and preparation has gone into the exhibit which originated in Dubai. The highlights of the exhibit were the sections about Muslim Explorers, Literature and the inventions. The most fascinating being the Elephant Water Clock. If you have young children, make sure to allow enough time to visit the main museum as there may not be as much to engage them in the exhibit which is more for young adults and adults.
You can get a 25% MCA discount by entering the code “mca” to buy the tickets. There are also holiday hours, which are here for the Thanksgiving weekend and then later.
Attendance at the exhibit has been low, and if enough people don’t attend the exhibit will be cut short. Please attend, invite other friends, neighbors and coworkers. It’s a great way to learn and share about the rich Muslim culture and heritage, plus its impact on the world.
Click on Details for the exhibit.
Palestine Israel and Peace through film: A review of Miral, David & Fatima, and Language of the Enemy August 18, 2011
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Purely by circumstance, I ended up watching three films about one subject on DVD; Finding peace between Palestinians and Israeli’s. Although each film had their strengths and weaknesses all the filmmakers deserve credit for making an attempt at addressing a tough subject. As views on this subject are so polarized, it is unlikely that all sides will be content with a view of these films. However, compared to the “hit-em” up films of the past, where typically Arabs were the bad guys, this is a small but significant departure.
“Language of the Enemy” (also titled “A House Divided”)
follows Romi Meir, an American from Boston who travels to Israel for his father’s funeral. While there he is recruited to do reconnaissance for Israeli Intelligence because he speaks Arabic. However, in the process he gets involved with a Palestinian doctor, Joleh Khalid with whom he falls in love. The film follows a Romeo and Juliet theme, where Joleh’s family and the Palestinian who wants to marry her do everything they can to stop them. “David & Fatima” is a love story between an Israeli-Jew, David, and Fatima, a young Palestinian-Muslim woman. It also is a retelling of the classic Romeo and Juliet scenario of two lovers whose families and environment are totally opposed to their union. The character portrayal is fine, but falls short in the narrative. You can guess the ending.
There are however, some major flaws with these films and when something is not authentic or believable, it takes the audience out of the picture. What are some of these examples? When people pray, but not like Muslims it is a bit of a throwback to a Muslim audience. Muslims would never speak in a derogatory manner about any Prophet. Although some Israeli-Arabs may live comfortable lives, the vast majority who live in the occupied territories have difficult lives which in no way compares to the life of a majority of Israelis. The occupier and occupied are not peers, and to show them as such is not very believable. If a soldier is pointing a gun at you at a checkpoint, unless you’re insane you are unlikely to provoke them, but this happens in these films. Conversely there is a stone throwing incidence where young boys are throwing stones at armed soldiers, who also have a tank. The restraint displayed by the Israelis in the film is rarely shown in real life, where live ammunition is many times returned. There are many children and civilians who have been killed by the armed forces, some while throwing stones and other as just innocent bystanders. Related to this the daily hardships of passing through multiple checkpoints is never shown. It is these kinds of things that pent up the anger and frustration that lead to conflict.
The dialogue is many times didactic, and trying to convey feelings through cliché lines becomes tiring and unfortunately adds nothing to help provide new insights into an age old conflict. While watching the credits of both films, one thing that stood out was the lack of Arab and Muslim talent and production input.
The most refreshing point of view is given in “Miral.” 
This is made by Julian Schnabel who previously made the well known “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” The film is adapted from the novel of the same name and follows the story of four women, from the formation of Israel in 1947 through the Intifada, Oslo and contemporary times.
The lead role of the character Miral is played by Freida Pinto. The story telling is not conventional, and although the film got a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, it was slammed by most of the critics and did not get mainstream U.S. theatrical release. I will avoid getting into the plot of the film. The DVD has a lot of bonus information and I watched it with director’s commentary. To his credit Julian Schnabel, has tried to be as authentic as he could, and give a contrarian point of view from the American-Israeli viewpoint which has dominated the discourse. It is not an easy film to follow due to the four stories that are contained in it. Most of the casting is good. Freida Pinto of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame however, was not very believable as a Palestinian girl. No one film can cover the time or the complexity of what has happened in the space of almost two hours. Miral tries to give a small expose, and that is a great start.
The world of film can provide another narrative to political discourse. One that can provide new insights and understanding that can help kick-start the dialogue between not only Palestinians and Israelis but also Americans who influence that region. By selecting some element of the conflict and providing depth, films like Miral can expose the audience to new insights.
From Encounter Point to Budrus: An Interview with filmmaker Ronit Avni May 12, 2010
Posted by muslimouttakes in Muslim Cinema, Uncategorized.Tags: arab, documentary, film, israel, jew, muslim, palestine, palestine israel peace filme documentary, peace
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Q. First a hearty congratulations on winning your second audience award at the San Francisco Film Festival for your film Budrus. I know the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a hot one. I’ll circle back to that but could we start of by you sharing a little about growing up and your background?
Budrus
A. Thank you, we are delighted by the award. About myself, I grew up in Quebec, Canada to a Canadian mother and Israeli father. Primarily immersed in a close-knit Jewish community in which I was taught an Israeli historical narrative.
Q. How did you point of view on the Isareli-Arab conflict change over time?
A. While attending Vassar College in New York State, a friend thought I would be interested in taking a course about the middle-east conflict. I felt I had already been over-exposed to this issue, but opted to give it a try. That in many ways changed my thinking and exposed me to concurrent, complex narratives, and especially to Palestinian perspectives. From there I received a fellowship to intern at Israel’s largest human rights organization, B’Tselem. I also began volunteering for the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, an organization founded to combat torture.
Q. What led you to filmmaking?
A. I come from a family of artists. I studied theater directing and was later drawn to film as it allows you to reach a larger audience. After college I sought to combine documentary film and human rights advocacy. I was hired as a Program Associate at Witness, which is an organization founded by musician Peter Gabriel. Witness advances human rights advocacy using video.
Q. So now you have the start of both a political awakening and exposure to video. What happened next that led you on your journey to being a filmmaker?
A. In my spare time but during my tenure at Witness, I interviewed 475 Palestinians and Israeli peace builders, human rights advocates and nonviolence leaders. Their issues were invisible to the media and society at large. Many times one initiative or group doesn’t know about the other. That was the founding idea for Just Vision – to tell the stories of Palestinian and Israeli peace builders and nonviolence leaders who are otherwise invisible to American, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli publics. Early on Joline Makhlouf (Palestinian) and Nahanni Rous (American) joined me, followed by Julia Bacha who had worked on the film Control Point (Brazilian) and Rula Salameh (Palestinian), so we have multiple faiths and points of view represented.
Q. Encounter Point was your first documentary film, which was well received. You won the San Francisco Film Festival Audience award in 2006. Can you talk about the film and its success?
A. The film started the festival circuit at Tribecca, and made its way to Toronto, San Francisco, Dubai, and Montreal. Along the way it was shown in over 200 cities and more than 10 commercial cinemas.
Q. During that process what was the high point for you?
A. Just seeing the audience reaction. That holds true for our second film Budrus.
Q. OK so lets talk about Budrus. The tag line is “It takes a village to unite the most divided people on earth.” What was the genesis of the film?
Julia Bacha (Director) and Ronit Avni (Producer)
A. One of the questions that had come up in the West after we had shown Encounter Point is “where is the Palestinian non-violent movement?.” The assumption was that if a nonviolent movement arose there would be peace. We knew that the situation was in fact much more complicated, and that historically there were already many examples of Palestinian nonviolence efforts. While researching the subject we found that one of the more inspiring and effective examples came from the village of Budrus.
Q. What makes Budrus so different that Encounter Point?
Encounter Point weaves together multiple narratives, while Budrus tells a single story over a period of time. In Budrus, we show how nonviolence brings different Palestinian factions together including Hamas and Fatah, together with Israelis and women leaders. Budrus is about what people can do to transform their circumstances through nonviolence. It is about action and change.
Q. What are the challenges and joys of documentary filmmaking?
A. There are too many to list. For example in Encounter Point we had to turn 250 hours of footage into a 90 minute film. With Budrus there had been a lot of video footage shot by activists with cameras prior to our arrival, so we had to track down their archival footage and then follow up with interviews to bring the story into the present. In terms of joy, showing Budrus in the village and seeing half of the people show up was very touching.
Q. These subjects could be addressed in feature films, why do you choose documentary?
A. Feature films have a much larger reach, but each genre has its pros and cons. People are cynical about the conflict. They have preconceived notions. If we had made the exact same film as a feature, people wouldn’t have believed it. With documentary, people know the subject is real and it is harder for them not to accept the facts. So each genre brings something to the bigger picture.
Q. Thank you.
Q&A with the Arab Film Festival management February 12, 2010
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The following is a Q&A with the largest Arab Film Festival based out of San Francisco, the AFF.
Michel Shehadeh is the Executive Director, along with Daniella Jubran who is the Program Director and Naser Halteh the Festival Coordinator. The Q&A is based on copious notes and editing from the interview with Michel and Daniella.
Michel (LHS), Daniella (RHS)
JM So what is the goal behind the festival or mission or whatever you want to call it?
MS We want to empower the Arab Diaspora in the US. We want to do cultural bridging. For example I by watching a film about North Africa can learn about it without ever having set foot there.
DS We also want to dispel negative stereotypes.
JM Is there a particular audience you target for the festival?
DJ We like to reach a broad audience, both Arab and non-Arab.
JM AFF has quite an impressive board, how did that come about?
MS By putting their names it is empowering to us all. By getting Arab art and culture out there it is a gateway to community empowerment. It enriches the cultural mosaic that we are all a part of.
JM Tell me a little about your film festival cycle, how does it play out during the year?
MS The cycle starts at the beginning of the year, we research and look for films playing at other festivals.
JM What are you looking for?
MS Arab issues or Arab artists, or to put it another way an Arab film or a film made by an Arab. Plus films that are getting buzz.
JM Any other sources?
MS Besides direct submissions we get great leads from other filmmakers and previous participants.
JM How would you break down the films that play at your festival?
DJ There are two major categories. The large budget films that are for example playing at Dubai, Cannes, have international distribution and the other being the independents.
MS But jewels can come from unexpected sources. Filmmakers give great tips, for example, “this film hasn’t got attention yet,” then we have to ask why, and it proceeds from there.
JM Based on last year how many films were submitted, and of those how many got selected?
DJ There were 185 submissions and of those 41 were selected. Majority of them are student short films.
JM From the 185 how do you whittle them down?
MS Daniella is the first filter.
DS I ask is this something we would show on a big screen. Many of the submissions are not bad, but not good either. The selection process then goes to the board where individuals may look at five films at a time. We then identify the definite yes and definite no’s. All the films are either documentary, feature or shorts.
JM Do you notice any recurring themes?
MS Urban wanderings of youth and border crossings, issues like migration or immigration, issues of gender.
JM Do you think the portrayal of Arabs coming from Hollywood has changed much over the years?
MS & DJ both sway their heads from side to side.
JM Why do you think that is?
MS It’s political. For Hollywood it is risky putting Arabs in a positive light. There are changes but they are hidden. It is harder for Hollywood to be as blatant as they used to be in the negative portrayal of Arabs and Muslims.
JM How do you think Arab Cinema breaks down by region or country?
DJ It has primarily been about Egypt and not the other 21 countries.
JM Why is that?
MS Egyptian cinema is almost as old as Hollywood. It is rich in content and produced great filmmakers like Youssef Chahine. Cinema follows social evolution. Egypt has gone through social and political downturns. In a downturn art is impacted but there is also resistance and that lead to alternative cinema. This allowed wonderful films like Eye of the Sun and other stories to be told through film.
Eye of the Sun
JM What does AFF in essence bring to society and community at large?
MS A Festival like AFF is a breathing lung that allows filmmakers who are choked in their countries to breath. That breath of fresh air allows the cycle of life to continue.
JM Other than AFF, which film festivals in your mind are the most prominent for Arab cinema?
MS Cairo, Damascus are two of the best and longest running.
DJ Dubai, although it has more of an international focus and is relatively new. Then there is the Rotterdam Arab film festival.
JM Now this is a sensitive question, but I have to ask it. Even though AFF is not a religious organization, regardless of peoples faith Muslims and Christians from that part of the world are conservative. How do you handle issues of for example nudity in a film or a homosexual theme.
MS We are always pushing the envelope. AFF is a secular organization and we do have these discussions about the content we want to show or not. The first question is, is the film authentic? Is it a real issue? If nudity is a part of the narrative and advances the story, that’s OK, but we don’t want to display pornography.
JM What about themes that you chose or not?
MS Again if a film is real and meets our mission we will include it. Even if it is about an issue, say something gender related about women, we want it to have some positive aspects. If it is about drugs or prostitution, it still needs to have some redeeming value. We have been told not to air our dirty laundry by exhibiting films like this. Our goal is to show both the negatives and the positives. As long as the negatives are not manufactured, we are OK as long as there is a balance.
JM The Arab world has a neighbor Iran, which is very strong in cinema. Do you show any Persian films?
MS As Persians are not Arabs we do not in general show Persian films. However, if the subject is about Arabs, for example last year there was a film about Iraqi refugees in Iran, even though the film was in Farsi we exhibited it. Possibly in the future we can have sidebars in our screenings so there could be for example a mid year screening which shows Turkish and Persian films. Again nothing is decided, this is just an idea.
JM As we wrap up, what can you share about your budget and given the tough economic times how is the support from the community for AFF?
MS Getting funds is always a major challenge. Our community is well to do, but for some reason arts and culture for many is not worth it for their support and philanthropy. We are really lacking and hurting because of that. We run the festival with just the three of us paid employees and of course many volunteers, but it makes it very challenging.
JM In conclusion, what is your vision for AFF and where would you like to see it five or ten years from now?
MS We hope AFF will become a cultural icon, that it will make a mark in San Francisco, then in the U.S., and finally on the international stage.
JM Thank you for your insights and sharing.
Movies, Music, and Muslims Part One: An Interview with Imam Zaid Shakir January 30, 2010
Posted by muslimouttakes in Uncategorized.Tags: cinema, film, forbidden, haram, islam, lawful, movies, music. halal, muslim
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As the presence and reach of media increases by leaps and bounds, we as a Muslim community here in America are still a silent minority. We have not made the inroads that other communities have. There is a small but growing film making community that is budding, but little to guide it. The subject of Muslim Cinema and film-making is hardly covered. I am in the process of finishing a whitepaper on the subject. Most of this is new ground and so we as both consumers and producers of film have little to no guidance. Through this interview I would like to help start a dialogue on this critical subject.
Imam Zaid Shakir
Imam Zaid Shakir is well known in the Muslim community. Just incase for those who do not know, here is a brief bio on him. Imam Zaid Shakir is a prominent and respected American Islamic Scholar, and Writer, who serves as a Professor and Lecturer at Zaytuna Institute in California, where he now teaches regular courses on Arabic, Law, History, and Islamic Spirituality. He is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic Scholars to Christian Leaders, calling for peace and understanding. His bio is long but to cut to the chase I am interviewing him because he is a mentor to many of us who are intiating or making inroads to the media from Illume magazine to MeccaOne Radio.
JM It is a reality that our community including our youth watch movies. The ratings of a film by the MPAA are useful but not always on the mark in terms of what we may deem to be acceptable to watch. Although we are still a ways off of having the H for Halal rating, films contain scenes that are graphic. What guidelines would you give to both parents and youth, about discerning about what to watch or not and how to watch?
ZS Guidelines for parents and youth are important. I would encourage them to minimize watching movies and TV. I’m not saying avoid it but you don’t want them to become an addict. There are more productive things to do with your time and mind. Parents should preview any film they are going to expose their children to. Eg Kite Runner was supposed to be a good film, yet it has a rape scene which has been traumatic for both children and youth to watch. You child has to process all that. Do not just count on some one else’s word that a film is good. You should watch it from beginning to end before you decide you are going to expose your child to it.
JM Of course once you have seen and you deem a film worth of watching you can skip those scenes also. What about adults. Films like Syriana or lets take Babel where the story has a Muslim theme of how a remote event in a desert can be blown out of proportion and start a chain reaction that triggers an international crisis. But the film has a couple of graphic scenes?
ZS My Question would be, did those two scenes add anything substantial to the film?
JM Looks like the interview got reversed. No, I wish they hadn’t put it in there.
ZS Did anybody recommend that film because of those two scenes? Probably not a single person who watched it said you have to watch this film because of these two scenes. But by avoiding them, it helps to keep to our Muslim standards and integrity and it forces the viewer to really value the film for its message, and not for the token nude scene or token love scene or whatever.
JM What are your thoughts on using entertainment to educate and whether you thinks it’s worth it? How do you think people should navigate their consumption of entertainment given that sometimes it may not have bad scenes but may have women wearing midriffs (as people wear in public) or the like.
ZS There is no substitute for education. We need to encourage our community to be readers. But film does have a teaching impact. You can give the message without it being an in your face endeavor. Try to avoid the other stuff.
JM There is no definition of Islamic Film and Muslim film. I came up with these as working definitions. . “Islamic Cinema is film that conforms to Islamic laws, customs and values.” It is a high ideal, and due to the vagaries of film a sensitive and difficult subject to address. Any art-form by its nature is subjective. “Muslim Cinema is a film movement by or about Muslims.” Are these acceptable and if not what would be a better definition?
ZS It is an acceptable definition.
JM From the Muslim majority countries, Iran is the most respected of all in terms of the films that it produces on the global stage. It seems like an interesting dichotomy whereas on one side politically they are considered the bad boys, in cinema they are highly respected. Any thoughts as to why that may be?
ZS Iran is portrayed as this reactionary bastion, a lot of that is part of a campaign to demonize Iran. In reality there are a lot of positive things going on in Iran. There are things that need improvement. The election may have been a sham. The opposition was Islamic and that is why so many people rallied around Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri?
Ayatollah Montazeri
He became a symbol. People are not out in the street, to get rid of the Islamic republic and asking instead, give us American style hypocrisy, I meant democracy. They are saying live up to the Islamic principles that the republic was founded on. Give us real elections. Iran is a very nuanced, sophisticated place, politically, culturally, socially and I think that sophistication spreads into the realm of film.
JM It is interesting to see that the Chinese before and now the Indians have made huge inroads into the media and have a strong presence in Television and film. Although we talk about the large number of Muslims in the US, we still appear to be an invisible minority. Is this just because of 9/11 and or discrimination, or is there something more to it?
ZS (My recorder jammed here so the following is a summary of the answer.) As the community matures and we move to the second and third generations who are not just concerned about survival you are seeing the youth moving over to the liberal arts and film making. Now some Muslims think that being involved in film is Haram. Again this is a healthy tension and it is good to see that they are taking the religion seriously.
JM Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and the award winning documentary “When we were Kings” about Muhammad Ali are two films that stand out, where the protagonist is a Muslim. Both the subjects have been a profound part of American history and are African-American. Going forward who or what are the subjects that you think film makers should consider shedding light on?
(Imam Zaid described the first story in detail. I couldn’t capture it verbatim so again this is just a summary).
ZS The following are people that it would be good to see films made on.
- Ayuba Suleiman Diallo also known as Job ben Solomon, in 1731 was a famous Muslim from Timbuktu who was sold into slavery. When he made it to the US because of his education and status he was able to be freed in America.
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
- The narrative is a long one but suffice it to say it is a powerful one.
- Wali Akram in the early 1900s was founder of the First Cleveland Mosque, the first official home to Muslims in Cleveland. . He was its imam for 52 years. Amongst other things he was an inventor and invented the railroad track changing mechanism
- Sufi Abdul Hamid was a labor organizer in the 1920s first in Chicago and then New York.
- Ida B Wells was an early leader in the civil rights movement, she documented the extent of lynching in the United States, and single handedly helped to stop it.
- She was also active in the women’s rights movement and the women’s suffrage movement.
- Mamie Till was the mother of Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy who was murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman, mobilized the civil rights movement. His killing was so brutal Mamie Till decided to hold an open funeral to show what racism had produced. When asked about why she was not angry, she replied she had no time to be angry or hate. She spent her life pursuing justice.
These are a few of many examples that would make a great narrative for film.
Part two of this blog is a Q&A which should be of interest to Muslim film makers.
Q&A with Low-budget film director Anthony Verge June 28, 2009
Posted by muslimouttakes in Muslim Cinema, Uncategorized.Tags: film director low-budget
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Director, Anthony Verge
1. Please share growing up and your relationship to film?
I don’t think I can say that I was always interested in making movies. Ever since I can remember, I had a general feeling of dissatisfaction at the movies I was watching. However, I certainly had an interest in telling a story visually. I made my first serious effort to make movies with my short “Border Lines”, about an illegal immigrant to the US. After that, I never stopped.
2. At what point did you realize you were destined to be a film-maker?
I still find it hard to call myself a film-maker. But I guess I am beginning to accept that as part of my persona. I began to think seriously about film-making after I made “Writer’s Day” in 2005.
3. What is your formal training in film?
My education in film has been disparate and piecemeal, consisting of seminars, classes, workshops, and a lot of self-learning. I attended courses and workshops at various colleges and those offered by the Film Arts Foundation, Bay Area Video Coalition and similar organizations. I also attend workshops and meetings in LA sometimes.
Directing is a lonely profession, and a lot of learning has to happen by trial and error, observation and self-analysis. While there is a good amount of training available to directors in composition, framing, editing and continuity, there is comparatively less schooling available in the area of style and aesthetics,. In those areas, a director is on his own.
4. You made the film Cathy Morgan, a feature where an attractive magazine editor finds herself in the middle of self-inflicted middle-age blues. Share with us the genesis of the film?
When I create a script, I usually start with a character that I find interesting, then build a story around it like bees build their hive. In the case of Cathy Morgan, I thought of this character as a woman struggling with herself – a weak woman with a strong center. I wanted to record the trajectory of this character. So I built the story around her and gave it a twist to make it look like a Silicon Valley chick-flick.
5. In brief can you share the experience of getting projects funded? What were the hurdles? How do you make a film which appears to have good production value, but is being done on a low budget?
So far, all my projects have been privately funded. When I want to start on a movie, I talk to people I know who want to make movies, but don’t write or direct. Or, they could be people who want to be in the entertainment industry but don’t really know how to go about it. I offer them a movie-making experience in exchange for their money, and the product would be something we could share together as our joint property. It’s also a question of personal credibility. Another thing is to deliver the movie within budget. If a director doesn’t do that, the funding will dry up very fast.
On the question of getting good production values on a low budget, the answer is simple – I pretend that I’m making a high-budget movie minus the budget. That means that I go through the entire life-cycle of the project from development through postproduction without compromise. If the project is professionally managed, it becomes a magnet for talented crew and cast, who will want to work in it regardless of the payment involved.
So, I make up for the lack of money with hard work and systematic preparation and diligent execution.
6. How long did it take to write the screenplay, production and the post-production process take for Cathy Morgan?
I wrote the treatment for Cathy Morgan and got the screenplay written by a writer in Los Angeles, a person by name of John Lovett. It took me about two months to write the treatment, and the script took about eight months to write. I have begun writing my own screenplays and the time varies from a month to a year. I work on multiple projects simultaneously.
My films being low-budget, I only shoot weekends “Cathy Morgan” was completed over eight months, with a total shoot days of about twenty-five. Some projects are more others less.
7. Can you share your thought process as to what makes a great story for film?
I think a great story has two attributes: it holds your interest when it is unfolding before us and after it is over, it haunts us with the depth of its meaning. So, to create a good story, we need to write about something that the audience can relate to, and the characters need to be durable.
8. What trends do you see in the world of low-budget film making? Is digital the answer to everyone’s prayers?
I think the digital camcorder has done to film-making what the personal computer did to publishing. We can draw good lessons from that analogy. Digital camcorders have reduced the cost of making movies and lowered the barrier to entry. That is a good thing. Now, anyone with talent and drive can make a movie. But in the end, content is still king, and only the best will succeed.
9. How do you view Hollywood and how it portrays Muslims. Do you see any interesting trends?
I think Hollywood is still learning to deal with Muslims, and it will take some time before movies are able to faithfully portray a Muslim character without qualifying it needlessly. But it will happen. As the demography of the county changes, it will in fact become a necessity in the years to come.
10. What advice do you have for aspiring film makers?
I would advise aspiring film-makers to meticulously prepare before they shoot, and not skimp on development and preproduction. A good script is essential, and one way to ensure that they it is a good one is to get objective coverage and feedback on it before beginning work on the project. Having a script reading is an excellent way to uncover bugs in the script. Film-making is a skill that can be learned like any other skill and with adequate training and work, anyone can succeed.
