Saudi Gazette Saudi film Director Tawfiq Al-Zaydi is not new to the world of entertainment. He won Golden Prize at the recently-concluded Lebanese Film and Television Festival in Beirut for his film “Khorooj” (Exit). In this exclusive interview with the Saudi Gazette he speaks about his next film “Ibn-e-Halal” (Legitimate Son), which will be shown in many Arabic and international film festivals. Excerpts from the interview: Q: Talk a little about yourself? A: I was born in Madina in 1982. I admired art since my childhood. I started my career in 2005 with a Saudi news channel where I directed two documentary films and two short cinematic films. I have recently directed the fifth film “Ibn-e-Halal.” It is a short comic satire. Q: What motivated you to be a film director? A: Well, there are so many motives: First of all, my love for art and my belief in message through art, especially cinema, which I consider a means to express my feelings for what I see in our society. Q: Say something about your film? A: “Ibn-e-Halal” is a story of a young man who loves theater and art. His name is Fahd, played by Hamid Banoun. Fahd wants to marry a girl of his choice, but he faces a lot of social problems. Q: Why did you choose such a subject? A: The issue concerns me, because if I want to marry a girl I have to know everything about her such as her culture, her upbringing, her views. In our society, this can never be allowed before marriage. Q: Tell us about any incident that occurred during the filming of this movie? A: Nothing noteworthy occurred, or to be more accurate I do not remember anything worth mentioning because I was concentrating on directing the movie. Q: Your film will be shown at international film festivals. What is your feeling? A: By Allah's grace, the film will be shown at many Arabic and international festivals. You get to learn a lot at these film festivals. So this is a very important stage in my life. Q: Tell us about the main characters of the film? A: The film has two main characters: Fahd and Khalid. Fahd loves theater and art, and feels cut off from society. Khalid feels that society is no hindrance to art and theater. Q: What problems did you face while filming this movie? A: The only problem we faced related to technical and technological issues. We were using very advanced filming techniques, and our camera crew faced a few problems adjusting to the new technology. Q: Did you get any support from local Saudi companies? A: Yes, first of all let me thank my friend and the single producer Waheed Jamjoum and Jamjoum artistic production company, which gave me an opportunity to realize my dream by providing me with cameras and film equipment. Hamid Banoun was a real discovery as a talented actor. Q: What are your future plans? A: I will give finishing touches to the film and then I will have enough time to complete the story of my first long film, which I started writing some three months ago. __
