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00:00Because I was not only looking for talents and people who can act.
00:07It's very important, yes, but I was also looking for human beings.
00:12And this is very important for me, like, to understand who I'm dealing with.
00:18So there were sessions where I tried some scenes with the actors,
00:25casting auditions, but there are other sessions
00:29where we just talk about different stuff,
00:32just for me to understand how they sing.
00:35And from there, and also I was always trying to observe their body language,
00:41how they walk, how they stand up, how they look,
00:45the tone of their voice, the different tones of their voice.
00:49All these elements helped me to find keys to motivate the actors
00:54during the rehearsals and during the shooting.
01:02Thank you so much, Director Amjad, for speaking to Gulf News.
01:05Firstly, we are very excited that your festival,
01:08you know, the toast of all the film festivals around the world,
01:11your Jordanian film, Inshallah, Our Boy,
01:13is going to enjoy a theatrical release in the UAE.
01:16It's a big deal. It's Jordan's official entry into the Oscars.
01:20It's got amazing reviews all over.
01:22But enjoying a theatrical run, not so easy, right?
01:25So is this a pat on your back moment?
01:28Yes, definitely. Like now the film is coming back home to the Arab world,
01:32to the Arab audience, the audience that this film was made for them.
01:38So it's a big moment. I'm so excited.
01:41We did the release already in Jordan,
01:43and the Jordanian premiere was in Amman Film Festival,
01:47where we got the audience award, which is amazing.
01:51It's the first audience award we get,
01:54and I'm so happy that it's coming from my country,
01:58from the Jordanian audience.
02:00We almost got like 30 awards since the beginning of this journey of the film,
02:07since we started in Cannes Film Festival last year
02:10with La Semaine de la Critique.
02:13And there we got two awards,
02:16and the crazy journey started with the different festivals.
02:21But we never got an audience award yet.
02:25So it was the missing award, and I'm so happy that it was from Jordan.
02:29And now it will be released in Saudi Arabia, in UAE, in Egypt,
02:33and soon in Tunisia and Morocco.
02:36I'm so excited and happy that I will share this story with the Arab audience.
02:43A scary moment for me, because I hope that people will enjoy the film,
02:49they will like the film, they will relate to the story
02:53and to the character and their struggle.
02:57So yeah, it's a very exciting moment for me.
03:01Excellent. And it also tackles a very important issue.
03:06It's about smashing patriarchy at the end of the day,
03:09and also the legal system,
03:11where the inheritance laws are not favorable to women,
03:14especially widows, right?
03:17Everything is lost to them in case their partner dies.
03:20What happens if they don't have a male child?
03:23If it's a female child, it's a disadvantage and they don't get any property.
03:27How did this idea... I mean, did you have a personal story to this?
03:31Because I felt it came from a very personal space.
03:34It's very, very true.
03:36So the idea was inspired by a very close woman to me,
03:44who was almost in the same situation like my main character Nawal,
03:48and a woman who dedicated her life for her family, her daughters and her husband.
03:56And when she bought the marriage house from her own money,
04:00her husband forced her to transfer the house deeds into his name,
04:04because for him, it was a shame to live in a woman's house.
04:09Years later, when he passed away, the family of her husband,
04:12they came and they told her, you know, according to the laws,
04:17we have a share in the inheritance and we have a share in your house.
04:22But they told her also that they will allow her to live in her house.
04:27They were doing financially well.
04:30This sentence, we will allow you, raised many questions.
04:34And as you said, these questions started with what if?
04:41What if they don't? And what if she says no?
04:45Is it possible for a woman in our society to say no for some laws and traditions?
04:54And what are her options?
04:56So all these questions fueled the idea of Inshallah Eboi.
05:02You know, when you do movies that are on social issues, perhaps,
05:06it tends to be a bit boring or there's always a danger of it being like very didactic.
05:12Like, you know, it's like a lesson, etc.
05:15How did you ensure that it's also engaging?
05:17At the end of the day, it's good storytelling.
05:19It shouldn't be about, oh, I'm against it.
05:22How did you ensure that it's good storytelling with a great cause?
05:26First of all, for me, it's a human story.
05:28So we're following a human character that's dealing with the struggle.
05:37At first, it was not my intention to do a woman's story.
05:42I wanted to do a society story.
05:45Because this struggle is not only affecting women in the society,
05:49it's affecting the whole society.
05:51And I was looking at our society, the Jordanian and the Arab society,
05:57where we have some laws that need to be maybe re-evaluated,
06:04how it's affecting our daily life.
06:08How is it affecting our relationship with each other, men and women?
06:13So for me, it's a human story from the beginning.
06:19This is how I ensured that this story will be engaging
06:24because the audience will be following this character, Nawal,
06:28and the other characters and their journey throughout this story
06:32that somehow has a thriller aspect.
06:39I wanted the audience to be on the edge of their seat all the time
06:43to know what she's going to do next.
06:46This is how usually we make sure that the story is engaging all the time.
06:55No, no, I get what you mean.
06:57When I was watching the trailer, I refused to read the reviews, honestly,
07:00because I want to see the movie and I want to enjoy it
07:03without knowing what people think about it.
07:05I don't want to go with any preconceived notions.
07:07But when I saw the trailer, I was like, the woman is also very smart.
07:12She's also slightly conniving, which you have to be
07:15if you are forced into a situation where survival is key, right?
07:19And then you just become street smart.
07:22Was that interesting to create a woman character
07:25who's not like somewhere a carpet on the house where people step on it,
07:29like a doormat?
07:30Of course.
07:31Did you make it very particular that it's a very fierce protagonist?
07:36You know, the type of this film is social realism.
07:43So the reality was very important for me.
07:46And for that, I had to do with the writing team
07:53a research for similar cases and different cases, actually,
08:01in the society, in the Jordanian society and in the Arab society.
08:06And through this research, I discovered that Jordanian women
08:10and Arab women in general, they are all fighters.
08:14They all have strong characters
08:18and they all try to find new creative ways to deal with the society,
08:26to survive in the society.
08:29So I refused to show Nawal or the woman character
08:35in the film in a weak position,
08:39in a position where they surrender to the domination.
08:44No, they are all fighters and they fight for their rights.
08:47It was a very important element for me
08:50to take the misery of women
08:53and make it like a melodramatic piece.
08:59No, it's not true.
09:01You know, when I was looking at the movie,
09:03I feel it was made on a very modest budget.
09:05Usually I cover Bollywood movies which are like massive in scale that way.
09:09I mean, not compared to Hollywood.
09:11This one seems very like no frills.
09:14Were you very clear about the budget as well?
09:17Like if a good movie has to be made for an Arab filmmaker,
09:21how important are the budgets?
09:23Well, it's very important, the budget, yes.
09:26But what's more important for me was the script, the story itself.
09:31We took a lot of time to develop the script.
09:34This film was made in six years.
09:36So between writing and rewriting the draft,
09:41the financing and two years of coverage,
09:45I had a good time to develop such a story.
09:51So budget is very important, yes, of course.
09:54But budget will do nothing if the writing is not complete
10:01and the characters are not strong.
10:03That's why I believe it's a combination
10:08between financing, of course, and good writing.
10:13And, of course, the other elements,
10:16like the crew who's working on the film, the cast,
10:21all of that, it took time to make sure
10:25that all the elements in the film are working well.
10:28I hope with my next film that I will be able to do...
10:33The financing stage will be easier.
10:36Yes.
10:37But at the same time, not my focus for the moment.
10:44I'm focusing on doing a story that I want to tell,
10:48a story that is close to my heart
10:50and reflects the issue that I want to talk about.
10:55Lovely. And what was your brief to the actors as well?
10:58What kind of a director are you?
11:00Are you the one who tells them what to do
11:02and perhaps steers them?
11:04Or do you have a clear-cut idea?
11:06What is the vision I want from you?
11:08And this is my vision.
11:10Well, I'm someone who prepares a lot.
11:14You had time. Six years you had good time.
11:18I had good time, no?
11:19And with the casting, especially,
11:21it took me two years to finalize the casting
11:25because I was not only looking for talents
11:29and people who can act.
11:33It's very important, yes,
11:35but also looking for human beings.
11:38And this is very important for me
11:40to understand who I'm dealing with.
11:43So there were sessions
11:45where I tried some scenes with the actors,
11:50casting auditions,
11:52but there are other sessions
11:54where we just talk about different stuff
11:57just to understand their point of view
11:59of different issues in the society
12:04and in the world
12:05where we can agree and disagree
12:08and just for me to understand how they think.
12:12And from there,
12:14and also I was always trying to observe
12:17their body language,
12:18how they walk, how they stand up,
12:21how they look,
12:22the tone of their voice,
12:24different tones of their voice.
12:26So all these elements helped me
12:28to find keys to motivate the actors
12:31during the rehearsals
12:33and during the shooting
12:35to give me the right feeling
12:37and the right emotion at the right moment.
12:40So I'm someone who prepares a lot.
12:43That being said,
12:44it's a collaborative work, definitely.
12:47With the preparation, I do,
12:49especially with the actors.
12:51I did a lot of rehearsals also
12:53before the shooting
12:54and in the pre-production.
12:56In the rehearsals,
12:58the space was open for them
13:03to tweak some lines.
13:06Same thing with the crew,
13:09with all the departments.
13:10It's a space where we all put ideas
13:15and think about some ideas
13:17and I agree on some stuff,
13:21I disagree on some stuff,
13:22but on set, I prefer to go with the plan.
13:25Amjad, what is the state of the Arab filmmaking?
13:28What would you say?
13:29I have attended Marrakech Film Festival,
13:32the Saudi Red Sea as well.
13:35I've gone to a few in this region as well.
13:37So it's interesting to see the Arabic voices,
13:40but in your case,
13:41do you think there's enough strides being taken?
13:44Do you see that Arabic filmmakers
13:47are having a moment in the sun?
13:49Well, I'm going to tell you,
13:51last year when I was in Cannes,
13:53there were amazing Arabic films
13:56like Goodbye, Julia by Mohamed Kordofani,
14:01The Mother of All Lies by Asma Moudiri,
14:05and Four Daughters by Kaftar Bin Haniya.
14:08And then in Venice,
14:09there was Bye Bye, Tiberius by Elena Svelim.
14:13So we have different kinds of films
14:17that is coming from different areas,
14:22from the Arab world.
14:24And now we have like a term
14:26that everybody is saying,
14:27the Arab cinema,
14:28that is music to my ears,
14:30because it reflects,
14:31we have like,
14:33it's a bouquet of filmmakers
14:37or films that coming from different regions.
14:40And it's also different in genres,
14:43different in,
14:44some of them are fiction,
14:46some of them are documentaries.
14:48And it's reflecting a lot of beautiful stories
14:52and important stories
14:54that talks about us as Arab nation.
14:59And I think it's a very crucial moment
15:02to have more voices,
15:05to have more filmmakers,
15:07more Arab films that coming from our region
15:11that reflect our struggles,
15:13our tales.
15:16And yeah,
15:17I think it's never enough.
15:20We need more definitely.
15:22But I believe that we are on the right track.
15:26Excellent.
15:27And of course,
15:28you are also,
15:29you've got the Oscar.
15:30I mean,
15:31from Jordan,
15:32they have nominated your movie.
15:33Is it a great,
15:34are you really hoping to be a toast
15:36of even world cinema?
15:37I mean,
15:38imagine getting an Oscar,
15:39that would be a great moment
15:41for Arabic cinema in general as well,
15:43right?
15:44Not just a personal triumph.
15:45Well,
15:46the Oscars is very important,
15:47but I'll tell you something.
15:50For me,
15:51I'm not trying to romanticize
15:54what I'm saying at all.
15:55But for me,
15:56I'm focusing on the story I want to tell.
16:00I'm focusing on doing a good film
16:03when I was doing,
16:04inshallah,
16:05a boy shooting it or preparing it.
16:06Of course,
16:07I was hoping that it will go to Cannes.
16:09It's in the back of my head,
16:10but it was not the goal.
16:12I hope the movie also triggers reforms.
16:14You know,
16:15sometimes art is very powerful,
16:16right?
16:17It can trigger reform.
16:18People might re-look or re-evaluate,
16:20like you said,
16:21the inheritance laws.
16:22It creates change.
16:23I hope art is a tool there.
16:25Somehow your movie does work in that direction.
16:29Well,
16:30yeah,
16:31of course,
16:32we all hope for change,
16:35and especially if it's a good change.
16:37But I believe that this is not the role of cinema.
16:41Cinema is not there to give messages or to change.
16:46Cinema,
16:47for me,
16:48is more a tool of raising questions.
16:51Yeah,
16:52to provoke.
16:53Yeah,
16:54to provoke people to think,
16:58and again,
16:59to re-evaluate what has been normalized on us as societies
17:03from laws and tradition,
17:05and to see if they are working with our contemporary
17:11societies.
17:12Are we functioning well with these laws and traditions or not?
17:19I believe also it's a crucial time for us to raise more questions
17:24than giving answers.
17:26Or the movie,
17:27for me,
17:28starts when people leave the theater,
17:30when the ending credits roll,
17:32and they take the subject of anything,
17:35and they start to take it to their living room
17:39to a bar,
17:40to a coffee shop,
17:41and they start a conversation,
17:43a healthy one,
17:44where they can discuss some topics of any movie they watch.
17:50Thank you so much.
17:51I will definitely watch Inshallah A Boy in the cinemas this weekend.
17:58And we'll put the word out there.
18:00I really hope it does good to Safa's business as well.
18:03Cool.
18:04I can't wait to hear your opinion.
18:06Of course,
18:07always.
18:08You take care.
18:09Thank you so much.
18:11Thank you for your time.