Director duo Hassiba Freiha and filmmaker Kenton Freiha-Oxley speak about their new film ‘Farah’, out in UAE cinemas on December 1. We talk mental health, pharma debate, and why Arabic tales will resonate with everyone in this region.
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00:00like yesterday, you know, we had some people come up to us saying that this was,
00:04it had really touched them deeply and that they, it sort of helped open up a little bit of what
00:09was going on, you know, in their lives. And so this is, this is what brings me so much joy,
00:14is that as a writer, as you know, if you touch somebody deeply and they come to you and they
00:18say, oh my gosh, like what you wrote or what you, what you, you know, displayed or showed,
00:24like Express really, really touched me. And I feel like it changed me in this way. I mean,
00:27it's a beautiful thing. I'm going to ask a very click-baity question. You are an Emirati.
00:36This is releasing on National Day. I have to ask it. Sorry, I'm paid to ask this because it's a
00:41National Day release. People are so excited. Like, oh my God, an Emirati filmmaker. I'm like,
00:46calm down. There are like 10 other movies also premiering, but they're very excited about it.
00:50So we need to talk about it. That's, you know, it doesn't matter you're an Emirati. It's great
00:55that you're making great content. I think it shouldn't be about where you come from. It's
00:58about what kind of films you make, but do you think it matters though, especially in a country
01:03that takes so much pride in National Day, you know, that kind of thing. I mean, you know,
01:08you know what it is, is that I, I worked for the government, for the Abu Dhabi government,
01:13or sort of like it was, it was a subsidiary really of the government. Yeah. So, and when I, when,
01:20when I was working there during my time there, I was really told like, oh my gosh, you're Emirati.
01:26You have to take advantage of that because they really, really back you and all of this. And I
01:30had no idea. I was just like, okay, well, I don't know what you mean, but, but sure. I mean,
01:35I'm just doing my work. Like, and so by the end of it, I really understood that they were trying to
01:41bring a lot of Emirati talent to the forefront so that they could, you know, so that they could
01:46like groom them and train them and, and, and to me, that's, I love that. I mean, I love that,
01:51that if every country in the world would really put that much focus to their, to their people,
01:57you know, to really put them in the front, that would be wonderful, but not everybody has the
02:00resources to do so, or every country has, you know, the ability, but I mean, to me, that's a
02:05wonderful, wonderful thing. And, um, I mean, if you put this quote to this, Eva, but I think that
02:09there's, the UAE has been very smart and strategic about how it creates long-term growth of this
02:19sector, not just short-term growth. So the fact that Hasiba and I worked together is thanks to
02:26the UAE creating a climate where they're bringing in well-known established Western talent to work
02:33with Emiratis. And I think this film releasing on National Day, it does two things. I think
02:42we live in a country that is self-assured enough where it can go and talk about as a national
02:48issues affecting women, issues affecting mental health and convey those in hopefully a highly,
02:57a well-structured and high quality way that maybe isn't happening elsewhere in the region.
03:02And that, that has happened solely because of the climate that the UAE has created, which is
03:06amazing. And thank you so much for talking about mental health. This is one subject. I think people
03:11should talk about it, whether you go black swan on us or whether, you know, you go far on us, you
03:16know what I mean? Because I come from India where they don't even, uh, it's, there is a taboo
03:24attached to it. I'm sure even in the UAE, it's not spoken about as another, you know, there's so
03:29much stuff like now celebrities are coming out. They're trying to normalize taking pills or even
03:34treating it or talking about it, talk to a therapist. There's so much fame attached to it.
03:38So it's wonderful to have filmmakers, but taking on complex issues and, you know,
03:42taking it out of the closet, so to speak. Absolutely. I really feel we should normalize
03:47this. And like yesterday, you know, we had some people come up to us saying,
03:51it sort of helped open up a little bit of what was going on, you know, in their lives. And,
03:56and so this, this is, this is what brings me so much joy is that as a writer, as you know,
04:01if you touch somebody deeply and they come to you and they say, Oh my gosh, like what, what you
04:06wrote or what you, what you, you know, displayed or showed like express really, really touched me.
04:11And I feel like it changed me in this way. I mean, it's a beautiful thing. It's,
04:14it's kind of why I do what I do. And I feel like it's a beautiful thing to be able to
04:17get changed me in this way. I mean, it's a beautiful thing. It's, it's kind of why I do
04:20what I do. And I, and I agree with you. Yes, we need to normalize it. Absolutely. I feel like to
04:25me just recently seeing the last season of the crown, you know, this is a family that's admired
04:31all over the world. I mean, they, they have the top education for, you know, etiquette. They have
04:38the top education for history and everything. I mean, everybody looks up to them as the perfect
04:42family. Look how much they struggle. Look how much is also, you cannot talk about and you're
04:48not allowed to show. And of course there's protocol and all of this, but what I'm saying
04:51is that like, even if the most like admired family in the world is struggling, then of course,
04:56everybody that's living on planet earth is going to struggle in some way. And that's okay. Talk
05:00about it really. It's not, shouldn't have any shame or taboo attached in my opinion.
05:04Ideally. Yeah. And mental health is the biggest leveler. It can affect the rich, the poor,
05:08the famous, it doesn't matter just because you're rich and famous, you're equally troubled. If not,
05:12all you take to pill. Did you expect resistance from the pharma? Like you take on the pharma
05:18quite openly. I feel almost your stand is so obvious that you're not, you do call them out
05:25for perhaps, because we live in a very pill happy, you know, we love to pop pills. I mean,
05:29we self-medicate especially to buy UAE. I can't say it, but yeah, most parts of the world,
05:34we love our pills. So in your case, where you very, very clear that this is what our stand is
05:40going to be. The pharma industry is not going to like it, the billion dollar industry, but
05:44this is how we. Oh yeah. Yeah. Haswell answer really well, better than me. But I think that
05:50as somebody that's maybe not as well educated on this area is to see, but the thing that's
05:54absolutely stunned me is the number. I was expecting to be going to festivals and Q and A's
06:01and interviews and people pulling apart our message. That's really what I expected. I
06:06expected people to be going, well, you crazy, you know, drugs are so important. This is what we
06:10need. The British medical journal reviewed our film last week and they said, it's bizarre how
06:17accurate this is and how well researched it is. And the fact that sadly, even within medicine,
06:24there is still within classic Newtonian medicine, there's still this massive debate
06:28about whether antidepressants actually do more harm than good.
06:30Quick question. Is it a good idea to work with spouses? Because in journalism,
06:34we were told never to marry a journalist.
06:38No.
06:40I knew it. I knew that, right?
06:42No, it's a very tricky look. I'll tell you what we had already worked together when we were at
06:472454. So that dynamic already existed before we got married. So we were, you know, side by
06:55side, like for a while. And so when we got married, it became kind of like a natural thing to work
06:59together. So when I had said like, why don't we direct this together? And he had directed in the
07:04past and for a long time than just produced. He's like, you know what? Yeah, why not? Then things
07:09started to get really tricky because it's two heads making one decision. That's really difficult.
07:14That's very difficult. You know, it's kind of like a child really in a way.
07:19I mean, I always use that analogy. It's like bringing up a baby means that you have sleepless
07:23nights, you have arguments, you both love something, you both have different views on
07:26how you should do it. A film is no different. You know, it really isn't. You know, this film will
07:30have a lifetime of being in, you know, available for people to watch and view and have an opinion
07:36on and as well our baby. So, you know, it's kind of, that's how we see it.
07:43Now you guys are empty nesters. The kid is off to college. Enjoy your time.
07:49But it is so it was really nice to watch a movie as well. And I thought it was a very
07:54riveting film. Like I wasn't bored. I watched it in one stretch. So that's all a good sign, I feel.
07:59So, you know, I really hope the movie does well, even financially, like box office wise,
08:04because they have to make the money at the end of the day. I appreciate it.
08:11No, you're right. I mean, we're very lucky. We have had some amazing reviews over the last week
08:15out of Lebanon. And, you know, we're very, very fortunate. You know, cinema is tough at the moment,
08:20but if nothing else, I think it's a great statement to the world. And I hope it changes
08:25some lives because that's ultimately that's the real reward really.
08:29That really is. Thank you for changing the world one good movie at a time then.
08:33Indeed. Thank you so much.
08:35Thank you for your time. Thank you for sending me the screen.