This Interview was conducted by COSTA BRAVA FILM FESTIVAL

 

How long have you been doing movies? How did you decide to start making movies?

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I would say, I am a newcomer to this profession. Mariam and Textiles is my first serious project as far as movies are concerned. I have had other professions which are strictly concerned with languages: teacher of English, translator, journalist and writer. However, having an experimental mindset, I feel excited about new experiences and new discoveries and I feel much less motivated to continue in a certain path after a few major achievements. Let us say I was rather satisfied with my literary career and I

wanted to master tools other than words and here is the concept of "image" comes up. I would say also that before the movies I passed through theatre. I took part in several workshops, I acted in only one theatrical performance at the theatre of Pommier in Neuchatel, Switzerland and I wrote two plays in French. This experience in theatre was kind of transition between my career as a writer and that of a filmmaker. Needless to mention that there is significant room for the written expression in filmmaking and this is called ,as you know, screenplay. There is indeed  room for everything in the movies, and probably this is what makes filmmaking an inevitable stage for an experimentalist like myself. 

 

Why did you do this project?

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I have a strong interest in history and archeology and my documentary film, Mariam and Textiles, is the culmination of a series of activities concerned with the archeology of textiles in the Levant. As I have just said, my passion for living and dead languages has led me to extremes like learning Sumerian, Phoenician and Ugaritic to certain extents of course. However, I wanted to dig deeper into the history of the human race beyond literate cultures and I found in textiles and its artistry a good subject for my research. Therefore, I traced the use of textiles from the Paleolithic age on, and was impressed with what I have found out.

 I have been reading about the textile industry in ancient times for a relatively long time; and I did not see the fruits of my hard work until May 2024 when the second edition of Découverte magazine, a Swiss magazine published in French, was released.  Two out of the four articles written by me in this issue are concerned with the archeology of textiles and one of them is confined to the Fertile Crescent as it sheds lights on the archeology of textiles in the Sumerian and pre-Sumerian eras. My film, Mariam and Textiles, is based to a certain degree on this article and a continuation of the process of exploration. You can say that the film is an endeavor to share my knowledge, my passion and my interests with other people via a different means which is now visual arts.

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(If you can say). How much budget did you have to do this project?

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Approximately 2000 American dollars.

 

Was it self-funded or did you get budget/producers/investors?

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It was self-funded. I contacted two parties in regard to sponsorship and one of them was the faculty of Arts at the University of Neuchatel where I happened to study psychology and French language. However, responding positively was the last thing that I would expect, but I wanted on the one hand to test their credibility in regard to one of their favorite subjects " support" and to offer them on the other hand some publicity in the world as a result of having their logo travel in the world along with my film. I can say much about this issue, but I will say in brief, that the canton of Neuchatel is well known in Switzerland as a badly-managed canton and the University of Neuchatel relies heavily on the Federal funds.  A great part of the funds is not invested in the right place and not entrusted to the right people as I think and something should really be done in this regard. Besides, individuals, however creative they are, have a slim chance to get support in this traditionally socialist canton and this is another reason why I did not seek financial support seriously. 

 

How long did it take from the initial idea to being able to release?

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First of all, I would like to stress that my film is not yet released outside the festivals circuit.  Second, it took me roughly four months since I took the decision to make the film.

 

Are you happy with the result?

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Yes, the film is doing well is the festivals circuit.  It has participated so far in twelve international festivals and got four awards and several achievement certificates. This is more than what a newcomer to the industry would expect. However, I am looking forward to receiving an interesting offer in regard to distribution.

 

What phase is this project in right now? Are you in the initial phase of sending it to festivals, middle phase or finishing the circuit?

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I would say in the middle phase!

 

How has your experience been with the festivals so far? Where do you think they should improve?

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It is nice! I am happy to discover this world. Although all festivals have things in common and all aim to host the best films ever, they differ in many respects: capabilities, infrastructure, orientation, and strategies etc. Many festivals are now contacting me and showing a specific interest in my film or my projects, some of them are jury members and not only organizers. They say they want my film in their festival, they love it, they offer a guaranteed selection etc. Honestly, I feel very pleased, especially when they put the title of my film in the subject of the message to indicate their special attention. In the beginning I thought that my film is going to be seen by the festivals to which I submit my film, but I realized that many professionals and festivals see the film even though it has not been submitted to them. I see how competitive the atmosphere is and I see the positive things festivals are doing. However, in regard to improvement, I would say that online festivals are supposed to do more and to improve their services. I have seen that some do not have even an official website and they enter the industry with social media accounts. Some of them do not give you an achievement certificate after getting say, a semi-finalist status. Some others demand submissions fees equal to those demanded by in-person festivals and some times more. 

There are so many festivals whether online or in-person and I have observed that there are those which coordinate with each other, but not necessarily with distributors. I guess a filmmaker would need a bit of experience in order to know which are the festivals attended by distributors or coordinating with distributors. Having solid channels with distributors is one of the ways in which many festivals might need to improve.

 

Normally, filmmakers use many references, favorite directors, favorite movies, etc. Were you inspired by any director or film? If so, tell us your references.

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I  admire a great number of movies and directors and there are scenes or films which I see from time to time and I ponder over their techniques and merits and if you go to my personal website, you will find many articles written by me, among them some articles are devoted to analyzing or studying certain movies. However, as far as Mariam and Textiles is concerned, this documentary film is somehow unique as a result of using AI and combining the personal and the historical, a personal biography with academic exploration of textile history etc. I have never seen identical documentary films adopting a similar technique. 

 

Your favorite movie? 

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It is hard to select one among my favorite movies, that is why I would give an indecisive reply containing: Scent of a Woman, Avatar, Matrix and the Silence of the Lambs.

 

Favorite series?

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I am not really into series.

 

Do you see yourself making movies in 5 years? Where do you see yourself?

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Yes, what I have done so far in regard to the movies is the just the beginning. In 5 years if everything goes well, I might be directing a company for film production having offices in a few countries one of which is the USA.

 

Do you have any other project in mind?

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Yes, I have written a short script entitled " No Fear Zahoora!". It is already available on FilmFreeway as a project, but I am thinking about prolonging it to fit a feature film. If I make the film, I guess it is going to be an animation film. If the script finds another director, it might have a different destiny. In my mind there is also a documentary film concerned with psychology and language disorders. I guess it is still early to speak about this one as it needs the agreement of many people. 

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What do you ask for the future? (cinematographically speaking)

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For the time being, I am looking forward to receiving a nice offer from a distributor.

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Source: Rami Ibrahim | Costa Brava