WITH A YOUNG EMIRATES DIRECTOR Majid Al Ansari, who blew up the Arabian cinematographer with his ZINZANA debut thriller ("KLEET"), we only said it would be very kind.
First of all, which films have most of all influenced your cinematic taste?
Majid: Of course, Tarantino films, with their crazy characters and beautiful dialogues. Films Baz Lurman, who directed Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese. I am a big fan of Asian films, first of all, the Korean “Chang-Wook Park” by Wong Kar-Wai from Hong Kong, Japanese and all films where you can draw inspiration. After all, cinema is an endless story.
How long have you been in love with cinema?
Majid: Since childhood. As a teenager, I drove videotapes with suitcases from Kuwait, then watched NBC movies one by one, so it is not surprising that this became my profession. In 2008, I joined Image Nation, one of the leading filmmakers in the Arab world, where I searched and selected scripts. This is how I came across the Zinzana script - I found it on the Black List website.
What attracted you to the characters in this scenario?
Majid: Firstly, the story itself, its plot. Of course, the internal conflict of the characters. The main idea, that is, the hero’s dependence - in this case on alcohol. And crazy characters - all as I love. I also liked the tension, because in the film all the characters are opposed to each other. I was intrigued.
According to the plot of the film, the main character named Talal is kept in the cell by police officer Daban. The first, in order to save his family, is forced to fulfill all the vagaries of a crazy overseer.
The film looks like a thriller, but if you look closely, it is a psychological drama with elements of vaudeville. I agree?
Majid: Yes, you could say that. It's about fighting a demon. And the struggle here is the key word. Talal is struggling with temptation, wants to change for the sake of his family.
Events occur in the Emirates?
Majid: Initially, it was supposed to be this way: after all, in the Emirates in the 80s there were many Palestinian and Kuwaiti policemen. But when we began to censor, we were hinted that the Emirates should not be mentioned. Therefore, the events take place "somewhere in Arabia ..."
Is Emirate Cinema Strict Censorship?
Majid: The state, of course, helps to develop emirate cinema - for example, the film Zinzana was funded by the government. But there are a number of topics that our conservative society is not yet ready to speak aloud. We do not touch them. I don’t see the point of “fighting the system” - it’s much more correct to move forward with small steps and open a new one carefully.
What is your personal, Arabian contribution to the world cinema?
Majid: Make a good movie. And help the market grow. Films like Zinzana bring the younger generation to the movies. And today, thanks to the Neflix network, it can be watched anywhere in the world, in twenty different languages. I want Arab films to be watched three, four, five times more often than foreign ones.
What is needed for this?
Majid: Good script. Having it in your hands, you can do whatever you want.
Do Arabs have special stories and topics of interest to the whole world?
Majid: Here in the Emirates, we cannot talk about war and political drama - we are still outside these processes. But we can make comedies about our lives or historical films about past events.
Are there any specific characters?
Majid: There is no difference between us and the rest of humanity. The same men, the same women. We have our own characteristics, but from the point of view of global internal conflicts, we are universal.
Which of the Arab filmmakers has excelled today? Are there any worthy reference works in your opinion?
Majid: I would single out the drama “Theeb” Press Abu Novar, the Saudi film “Wadjda” by Naifa Al Mansour, “Omar” and “Idol” by Palestinian Hani Abu Assad. And from the emirate, of course, “City of Life” Ali Mustafa. It is customary for Russians to revise many of the same films that foreigners find strange.
Does the Arab world have similar traditions?
Majid: Cinema is a new phenomenon for us. We are only trying to build this industry. While there are no traditions, but, I hope, in twenty years they will appear.
Interviewed by Natalia Remmer
