Writer/Director/Actor Omar Bakry, Producer/Actor Inji El-Gammal, Producer Jaselle Martino, Editor/Post Production Supervisor Salah Anwar, Actor Roger Hendricks Simon and Co-Producer Ahmed Barbary talks to Fest Track about story, intent, music, structure and style in regards to their film "Abdo And Saneya" playing the Arab Spectacular section of the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
00:00This is Tim Wasberg, I'm here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the Red
00:29Sea International Film Festival, now relocated into the historic part of the city, Abbalah.
00:37Could you talk about representing a kind of love story and how you wanted to bring that to bear?
00:44Obviously you were there, so you're watching it too as an actor, but as the producer, could you talk about that?
00:50Yeah, I want to say two things. Wasn't she phenomenal?
00:53Yes.
00:55Like, um, and I, it's not really, um, I think, you know when you're on set.
01:01Like she's holding her, when she's holding his head at one point.
01:03Listen.
01:04Put a bone.
01:06Oh, you were there.
01:08You were great.
01:10I see who's running the set, all right?
01:13No, but, um.
01:13We team up against him.
01:18That's why he's squeezed in the middle.
01:19Yeah, yeah.
01:19No, but, um, no, genuinely, you know, sometimes when you're with a project for a very long time and you're in the ins and outs of everything, um, getting a chance to watch, watch a cut sort of brings you back into the seat of the audience, you know?
01:48And then I'm like, I delude myself and thinking, let's go, let's keep going.
01:52Because, you know, filmmaking is a very challenging process and it's even more challenging with a film like this, you know?
02:02Like, because, uh, a film like this is hot.
02:05You, if you can't see the vision, um, as we're going, you really get, you get one shot to sell what the finished product is.
02:14And, um, a black and white film with an unknown director to the industry, uh, silent film, um, it was, when I would, when I would, when I would.
02:24Yeah, that's a sell.
02:25You must be crazy.
02:26Listen, when I would pitch this to people, literally, when I would pitch this to people, I would physically see their eyes glaze over because it's like, what?
02:34But, like, but then when they see it.
02:35But see, they've never watched Chaplin.
02:37But then when they see it.
02:37They've never watched these movies.
02:38Right.
02:38No, but then when they see the film, they're like, I see what you did there.
02:44They're like, I see what you did there.
03:14Yeah.
03:15Yeah.
03:16Because my introduction to the film, like, goes way back when actually Gisele started.
03:19That's when I actually met, um, NG and Omar.
03:20Oh, okay.
03:21But, I mean, they were like, when they were seeking money.
03:22I used to work for a company like that.
03:23Like, that can put like some equity in film.
03:24Okay.
03:25But we couldn't.
03:26So, bridge gaps.
03:27Yeah.
03:28Yeah.
03:29But we couldn't put it together.
03:30We had like other things that we are in the pipeline.
03:31So, I had my eyes.
03:32So, I had my eyes on it.
03:33And I kept like seeing.
03:34Okay.
03:35Omar and NG all the time.
03:36Uh, and asking about the film and like, uh, and asking about the film and like, like,
03:39occasion here and there.
03:40I was like, we're going.
03:41We did this.
03:42We did this.
03:43We did this.
03:44We did this.
03:45Like, the film, like, it goes like, to, like, it goes way back when actually Gisele started.
03:47That's when I actually met NG and Omar.
03:48Oh, okay.
03:49But, I mean, they were like, when they were seeking money.
03:50I used to work for a company like, that can put like some equity in film.
03:52Okay.
03:53But we couldn't.
03:54So, bridge gaps.
03:55but we couldn't like put it together we had like other things that we are in the
03:59pipeline so I had my eyes on it and I kept like seeing Omar and Andrew and
04:04asking about the film and like occasion here and there I was like we're going we
04:08did this we did this so I kind of like was sitting on the back seat
04:14seeing the whole journey and the whole thing yeah I didn't even get involved
04:19but then then towards the end when they were like okay we have a film Salah
04:24the editor is also like a very close friend and I joined his journey when he
04:28came to New York so I have seen like a lot of progression during this film on
04:33people's lives and everything that happened seeking money raising money and
04:38everything so I was knowing what's going on so it wasn't like an introduction
04:43from the beginning for this project yeah I'm sorry I have to add that the film
04:47and then I'll get the mic to you just I'm not sorry and it started in our
04:51basement Omar and I and that started as we said I told Omar you work organically
04:57the best when he's he really from nothing he can do so much because he's
05:03very creative he's a visual artist yeah and he's a painter yeah and a film so
05:07there's still that's what I wanted to tell you you see it as frames it's like
05:12painting yeah and it's because he's a visual artist yeah wow like when you're
05:17going into the witch doctor that specific is like a painting or the two
05:21girls in the window the two girls in the window there's no it's like impressionist
05:25yeah absolutely so it started in our basement as sketches and then it took you
05:33know it started growing because he doesn't do anything small he always
05:36begins like this and it goes like that yeah and it got the attract the attention we
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