Egyptian filmmaker Ali Selim captivates audiences with “Sweet Land
For those who ve followed the last Cairo International Film Festival closely, the biggest Egyptian discovery wasn t any of the three competing films in the international competition or Amir Ramsis critically panned debut – it was Egyptian/American director Ali Selim s little masterpiece Sweet Land .
The film – a romantic comedy that explores the assimilation of immigrants in to the US during the 1920s – captivated Egyptian and American audiences alike, winning numerous awards, as well as a nomination for the prestigious Independent Spirit Award. It has also made its way to several top best-films-of-2006 lists in the United States.
Dressed casually in jeans and a blue button-down shirt, the 45-year-old Egyptian-German filmmaker hardly looked his age. Selim talked to The Daily Star Egypt last month about films, inspiration and his next project.
When did you decide you wanted to be a filmmaker?Well, I think I ve always been a storyteller. I was a big liar when I was a little kid. I never actually realized what directors do until I went to a film festival when I was 20 and met up with this director who suddenly opened up my eyes to this world that I was familiar with, yet didn t know how it functioned.
I guess the reason I preferred directing to another film-related profession like scriptwriting, was that I ve always been too sociable to finish writing a story for months on my own.
Did you study filmmaking?No. I majored in philosophy at St. Thomas College in Minnesota. My foray into the media was a pure coincidence. A friend of mine asked me if I was interested to work as an art director for a commercial. I had no previous experience with commercials and I saw it as a challenge. Step by step, I started producing ads and then directing them until I founded my own production company.
How many commercials have you directed in your career?About 850.
When did the transition from ads to commercials take place?I grew tired of directing ads; they just didn t do it for me anymore.I was no longer enticed to direct them. I saw commercials as a good means for me to make connections and crack Hollywood eventually. But it didn t happen and all major Hollywood studios rejected my script. I put together the Sweet Land s budget from loans from friends who told me to enjoy the experience as much as I could because this will be the last time for me to make a film without any adult supervision.
Who are your favorite filmmakers, the ones who inspired you the most?Lots of them. Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris), Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D), Michelangelo Antonioni (The Adventure, Blowup) among many others.
They re all Italian. You seem to be a fan of Italian neo-realism.Yeah, I guess you can say so.
No American favorites though.I like some American films and I m a huge fan of Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude, Being There), but I m more fond of other world cinemas. I mean some of my favorite films are Turkish, Algerian, Russian. and I believe that Arabic cinema can be the next big thing.
Have you started preparing for your next project?Yes, I ve already written a script and I m in the process now of trying to show it to some producers. The script is about a story concerning the Arab world and Egypt.
Sweet Land has won plenty of awards and the critical response the film generated has been sensational. Do you think you ve broken through Hollywood now?I don t think I have yet and it ll take me years before I do. Independent filmmaking rarely receives any acknowledgment from Hollywood but as you said, the response to the film has been great and it s continuing to succeed. If that means this means more doors will open up for me now, than I guess I am breaking through.
