By Ziad Nawfal
Belal Hibri is a young film editor and colorist based in Beirut, Lebanon. He has worked on feature films, documentaries, installations, music videos and corporate videos, both in the United States and Lebanon. I interviewed him about his work on the films Short Scenes from a Long Marriage, by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia (Lebanon/USA), and As They Say, by Hicham Ayouch (Morocco).
The interview took place shortly after these two shorts were projected in Sharjah, as part of the Biennial’s series of commissioned films, Seven Short Plots.
Can you describe the experience of working on Short Scenes from a Long Marriage?
Belal Hibri: Actually, I was also involved with Rania’s and Daniel’s previous feature film, OK, Enough, Goodbye, which had its premiere at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2010, and won an award there. It was a great experience to work on both of these films, because Rania and Daniel shoot with a very small crew. By very small, I mean just them and the actors. They do everything, they produce, they direct, they record the sound, they shoot, they edit… In the case of Short Scenes, Daniel even did the sound mix, and the actors were relatives of Rania’s from Tripoli. In the same manner, most of the cast of OK, Enough, Goodbye consisted of Rania’s family as well. Her mother was in the film, her father as well, and the mother in the story is actually her grandmother. It’s an indie style of filmmaking, which can really work if you have an appropriate story.
How did the Biennial approach Rania and Daniel regarding the Short Scenes film?
Rasha (Salti, co-curator of the Biennial) was working on the Abu Dhabi Film Festival as a programmer. She met Rania and Daniel through the festival, when they received funding from SANAD for post-production. Rasha was taken by their work, and they were approached for the Short Films selection.
Was Short Scenes created especially for the Biennial, or did Rania and Daniel have the idea for it before they were contacted?
They made Short Scenes specifically with the Biennial in mind. If the Biennial had not approached them, they probably would not have made this short.
To which extent were the Biennial curators involved with the development of the project?
The good thing about working with the Biennial is that they really trusted the artists. Both in the case of Rania and Daniel, and with Hicham (Ayouch, director of As They Say, also presented as part of Seven Short Plots). They basically said, here’s something to react to, we trust you as filmmakers and directors, go ahead and make the film that you want to make. We delivered Short Scenes to them, and they accepted it as is, without comments. The same happened with Hicham’s film As They Say; the curators were very supportive, and did not attach any strings to the plot or any part of the development process. Which I think is probably quite rare. I believe that there were certain considerations regarding the conservative environment in Sharjah, and that was a concern. But in both cases the filmmakers were happy to comply, in the sense that they wanted to make a film that was appropriate, that wasn’t garish or overly offensive. In both situations, there was a realization that the film was created within a specific context. In the case of Rania and Daniel, their story doesn’t contain any elements that could vaguely be provocative.
Tell me how you came to be involved with Hicham Ayouch’s As They Say.
I was much more involved with this project. I edited the film with Hicham over the course of a month. It was a much longer editing process, because the story was created through the edit. Considering the way Hicham shot the film, and his approach to filmmaking, the process was much more improvised. It was definitely a challenge for me, as I am primarily a colorist, but am very fond of editing. Working with Hisham was really inspiring, because he is a demanding person, and he demanded a lot from the editing process. This was very rewarding for me.
How was Hicham approached by the Biennial?
Rasha had met him previously in the year, while scouting for films. His feature film Fishers was programmed as part of ArtEast’s program of Middle Eastern films, which has now gone to the Tate. Hicham’s work definitely dealt with several elements that were close to the themes developed by the Sharjah curators. So it must have made sense that he would make a short for the Biennial.
Were there any restraints or restrictions imposed on Hicham?
Hicham went into the mountains in Morocco for a week, with three or four people, and made this film completely on intuition. As such, I was really surprised that he would be given complete freedom for his project. We gave Rasha a rough cut of the movie to watch, expecting a lot of criticism and feedback, but she loved it as is. She asked us a couple of hard questions about a couple of scenes, but she was extremely supportive and very encouraging.
Given your involvement with these two films, do you feel that the concept of working for a commission is restrictive?
I think that it’s a great concept, honestly. I find it absolutely great that a filmmaker like Hicham is given an opportunity to create freely. Shorts are important for filmmakers, in order for them to experiment and learn things and make their craft stronger. I think that young filmmakers are not given enough opportunities to play with a bit of money, and take risks, and toy with different concepts and styles of filmmaking. I absolutely love the idea of commissioned shorts. It’s absolutely crucial that institutions like the Sharjah Biennial spend their money in this manner. I think they should do it more often, because if there’s any way that filmmakers are going to develop their talent, it’s from doing work in situations where they can pay their crew and contributors, pay themselves, and take risks. Even if there are strings attached to the money. Artists need to be supported by institutions.