Hatem Ali, the Syrian director and actor, does not have an optimistic view of the situation of Syrian drama, as he sees it going through its worst stages at all, because working in a drama in Syria faces many of the problems left by the war, and negatively affected all industries, including the drama industry.
Hatem Ali, in his interview with «Emirates Today», touched on the film and drama industry and their problems in the Arab world in general, noting that he had finished his last film in Canada, which is called “Peace in Chocolate”, which was filmed under the management of Canadian director Jonathan Keith.
The Syrian artist likened the reality of the drama in his country to the reality of any industry. “War destroyed all industries, including drama. The Syrian series almost disappears, and inside the country there are a group of directors trying to provide experiences, but there is no funding, capabilities and enough space of freedom, and all of this leads to a decline in drama that It is at its worst. ” He denied that the saying of creativity born from the womb of suffering applies to drama. "This may apply to individual arts, such as writing, drawing and music, but not to the arts that carry alongside one of them is an industry that needs financing, stability and many conditions that are of course not available in times of conflicts and wars."
He added, "A liar who claims that he can work without concessions in these circumstances. The Syrian drama is almost disappearing, and many workers in the field live in the diaspora, and work in environments other than the Syrian environment, in an attempt to adapt to the stage, and this is certainly at the expense of options, and on Calculating the artistic workmanship, and the lucky director who finds projects that appeal to his aspirations and simulate climates that he lacks.
the series `Of Ramadan
On the connection of the drama with the holy month of Ramadan, and the commitment to production in 30 episodes, Hatem Ali considered that there are attempts to get out of this dramatic context, as she produced works of 10 episodes, but this will not cancel the existence of the Ramadan series, as the usual production of Ramadan drama is related to marketing, and today advertisements began to leak To other platforms, and this has encouraged business makers to go to those platforms, and it will increase over time.
He pointed out that «the presence of several parts of the series is part of the dramatic industry, and is present abroad, and follows the acceptance of the audience, as long as he is ready to watch and work gets the advertisement, parts of it can be produced, the criterion is the sale, and the material return is also an expression of the number of views.
On cinema, Hatem Ali said, “The strength of American cinema lies in the fact that the whole world is a market for this product. From this standpoint, Egyptian cinema also derives its strength. There are 100 million Egyptian viewers, in addition to the entire Arab market, and Indian cinema as well, these types "From cinema with markets, that's why it has turned into an industry." He added: “In front of the domination of the American movie, we find that European cinema has problems that are almost similar to our Arab problems, and for this we need other elements. Hence the importance of social and governmental initiatives, support funds and workshops that discuss their problems and extract solutions. In the end, cinematic activity is part From social activity, which is an expression of the state of society, its development and its engagement in a civilizational dialogue with other societies, and therefore this industry is not determined by its importance from the economic return, as the latter is one of the aspects and gains of this industry, as it exceeds the economic dimension with societal, cultural, political and human dimensions.
Will to develop
On the film industry in the Emirates, in which he had experience, Hatem Ali noted the existence of the will to develop the sector: “The UAE witnessed the birth of two giant festivals, made great contributions to the local and Arab cinema industry through support funds, and unfortunately in the glory of the brilliance the festivals stopped, and there are attempts Creating alternative demonstrations, including (a movie in the desert) for Emirati filmmakers ».
He pointed out that the UAE contains relatively many galleries, if compared to Arab countries such as Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria, in addition to the diversity of the audience in the Emirates, which is a positive advantage that may bear negative effects on the local film, and for this it faces great challenges, including the audience, and how to reach it, Addressing the diverse and global audience without abandoning the privacy of society, and how you can find topics and forms that narrate these topics, because cinema is making great developments in terms of discourse and cutting and display techniques, with a focus on content, because privacy is the only way to global.
Ali expressed his sadness at the absence of the cinematography industry in Syria, as he finds an outlet in the drama, which he described as the mass popular industry, indicating that here lies its strength and its weakness as well, within the framework of populism the drama remains difficult to develop, unlike cinema, which is a bigger platform to put on The level of content and form: "In the cinema, we choose the audience, while the TV is directed to different social segments, and for all ages, and the speech must be simplified in order to meet the consensus, and care must be taken in raising issues, especially as we enter the houses, and there are conditions for this hospitality."
"Peace with Chocolate"
Hatem Ali has finished filming "Peace in Chocolate", which is directed by Canadian Jonathan Keith, and talks about a Syrian family who fled the war to Canada.
Ali said of his role in the movie: “I play the role of the father who used to own a chocolate factory and tried to repeat the experiment in Canada, and he managed to succeed in establishing (peace chocolate), which the Canadian Prime Minister talked about, and the astronauts carried them to space, it is a true success story.”
He added that Canadian production includes Canadian and Syrian actors, describing the experience as not feeling alienated, and that the subject matter approach was made through irony and wit, without big slogans and melodramas or cliches.
And about working under the direction of a director, he pointed out that this means his belief in the director, and thus takes off the director’s garment, and plays his role as an actor to reach what the other wants, adding: “The director overcomes my personality more than the actor, so the actor is part of the artwork, an important part, and more Appearance and the most reaping of the results of the artwork, but the limits of the actor's creations remain limited to the character's boundaries.
Inside Syria, there are a group of directors trying to provide experiences, but there is no funding and capabilities.
The Emirati film faces challenges, including a diverse audience, and how to reach it without abandoning privacy.