Speaking Foriegn

So we sit down, excited, finally, the long wait is over and we'll get to see the film we've been anticipating. So, the film starts, and all is well. Its brilliant.

And then the Russian begins.

Now, I know all about the film. I know that it is originally Russian. I'm talking here, of course, about Day Watch. (I've seen Night Watch and fell in love with it, awesome, kick ass film)! But I saw that on DVD, with the bliss of an English audio track.

We sit for about 20 minutes. Through which I try to translate, while I read the subtitles and watch the beautiful visuals. It was not only impossible, but extremely NOT fun. There was only Arabic subtitles.

We leave the theatre and confront the staff with the problem. They seem as bewildered by it as we were. They didn't have a clue. We did get a refund, but our evening was ruined. We were so looking forward to seeing it and now we'll have to wait for the DVD to do so.

You would think, that they would know what they are purchasing, but the folk at Dana Cinema seemed quite oblivious to the whole thing. Not least the manager, who stormed off seemingly angry at the fact that someone somewhere screwed up big time.

Anyway, so, just beware, if you want to see Day Watch. Unless you can read Arabic, or understand Russian!

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine
Originally uploaded by Alizod

I went out the other day for a photo shoot through Muharraq. The last time I did that was at least five or six months ago. There is no doubt that there is a magical thing about that place, because every time I visit I discover new things to shoot.

After a bit of dabbling with photoshop, I came up with this photo, which keeps reminding me of the film Little Miss Sunshine. The film is a beautiful treasure and I fell in love with it from the first frame. A simple story of a odd and somewhat dysfunctional family, I know it sounds too familiar, been done to death, but trust me when I say this, there is nothing like Little Miss Sunshine. That's one film that will leave such a lasting impression on you that you'll find yourself remembering for days and weeks to come.

Not to mention the fact that it have one of the most sweet-beautiful-romantic-heartbreakting-sing-a-long-happy tune I've heard in ages. If you must download one song this weekend, make it "Till the End of Time" by Devotchka.

Now go do something useful. Bake a cake or something.

Stardust in Their Eyes

It gave me goosebumps. It made me cry. It made me laugh silly. It made me giggle. It made me reflect. It painted my world with magic and colors and starlight. When you wait for something for so long, and then it exceeds your expectations, you're left in a beautiful daze.

I'm talking here about the wondrous Stardust, the film adaptation of one of my favorite novels of all time, of the same title, by the master of storytelling Neil Gaiman.

One would usually be wear of such adaptations, but the filmmakers got it spot on here. The film was perfect, a joy, a wonder, a gorgeous journey and a thrilling adventure, one that will no doubt makes you once again believe in love, in magic, and in dreams.

I can't stress enough the need for every one of us to see Stardust. And once you've seen it once or twice, go out and get the book (if you've not read it yet! shame on you!).

To Shoot or Not to Shoot

Prep
Originally uploaded by Alizod

Started the day by having breakfast with our two actors and then driving to the location, where the crew had already arrived and been prepping things up. A few minutes before 9.30, we began rolling!

The plan was to initially shoot the film over two days but due to restrictions of the use of location, we tried to shoot the whole thing on the one day (yesterday). It started off well, and everyone was in good spirits. I've never co-directed anything before, but I thrived on the role. I loved it, and I think I did an okay job for a first timer. My previous experince was being involved as a co-producer, so being in control over the creative aspect this time was quite different.

We tried to simplify the shoot and nto try anything fancy, afterall, this is a kind of a non-budget production! But we were keen on creating something to get us into gear for bigger things. It's been a relativaly pleasant experince so far, there are still certain things that I would've liked done better, preperation wise, but we had to go with what we have.

We shot for about four hours and took a break and then restarted for another three hours. But we couldn't complete the whole shoot on the day. People started getting weary and we made a decision to call it a day, to complete the remaining scenes the following Saturday. (Not much to go though, we've shot about 70 percent of it).

It was fun, the hardest bit was when I volunteered to stand on a chair and lift the camera vertically to try and get an overhead shot as high as I could. Somehow I didn't drop the camera, crisis averted! The other bit was trying to keep the crew and actors motivated all the time. There are high and low points and as a director you'd have to constantly be on a high note.

Visit my flickr to see some production images from the day.

For the Weekend

A book you MUST read...

A film you MUST see...