Inside Story: Mohammed Buali

We get the chance to talk to Mohammed Buali, where he shines some light on Bahrain’s film industry, his beginnings, his struggles, and “The Sleeping Tree”, the first Bahraini feature film in ten years, which he directed.

Could you please introduce yourself and tell us what do you, exactly?

I’m a storyteller and director who started his journey by making short films, and have just finished my first feature film. In 2012 I founded a film production company, Nooran Pictures and our mission is to produce films and act as an incubator agency for local filmmakers and the industry.

I am also the vice president of the Bahrain Cinema Club, artistic director of the Naqsh Short Film Festival, and director of Bahrain Film Days. I have been trying to establish the film industry in Bahrain, and help young Bahraini filmmakers make films to represent Bahrain in international festivals.

How did you get into the filmmaking industry?

In 1998 or 1999, my friends and I used to go to Seef Cinema every weekend after school. On one particular occasion, two films were being screened – The End of Days with Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Green Mile with Tom Hanks. I don’t know why, but something attracted me about The Green Mile’s poster and the group split so that three of us watchws The Green Mile while the others watched The End of Days.

This decision to watch The Green Mile changed my whole perspective on cinema. I starts questioning – What is cinema? What is film? How does one look at a film?

I had no knowledge about filmmaking at that time. I started doing research, and began to read about film. I was constantly searching. I went to films every other day, focusing without intention simply because I was amazed by it. Because I went so often, I began to see deep things.

I started watching films by Tom Hanks, and then I saw The Shawshank Redemption. I was amazed by it. I started learning about new actors, new directors and screenwriters. It became a hobby, a daily activity.

I used to watch four to five films per day, sometimes seven—from the time I got home from school until late at night, one film after the other. I did that for a couple of years, then I started writing. At the time, online forums were popular, and there was a forum for cinema-lovers. I used to see people writing about the cinema, and I started writing with them. I replied, commented, and started writing articles.

I kept going until I graduated from high school. I always knew that I wanted to be a director and enter the world of cinema, but no one supported me. They said “You’re going to study cinema? Where are you going to work? There is no filmmaking industry. Go study finance; you will get a BD 800 salary.” Everybody kept trying to convince me that filmmaking was pointless.

I studied finance, and I was an A student. At the same time, I worked at the cinema.

That was the beginning?

I wanted to be close to the cinema. It was a chance for me to watch free films, and I got to see how people interacted: the films they watched, what they thought, and their reactions.

You worked at Seef Cinema?

Yes. I worked there for three months selling popcorn then for a year and a half as a sales agent.

There is a big chance I bought popcorn from you.

Maybe! A lot of people bought popcorn from me.

The hierarchy in the cinema was security, then ticket-sellers. My goal was to become security so I could always watch films. I was promoted to ticket-seller, but I told them I didn’t want to. I wanted to be security. They refused, and I became a ticket-seller. I kept working there for one year and a half.

I changed my major from finance to law because I felt like it could be applied to everything.

I studied law for two years at the University of Bahrain, then continued my studies at the Applied Science University in Jordan.

A friend who worked at the Arabic-language Al Watan newspaper asked me to send in some writing samples to Fareed Ramadan, the head of the cultural division and a screenwriter, who was looking for writers. His response was unforgettable, particularly as I was still a student.

He said, “I read your articles, and I feel that I have discovered a new writer in the world of cinema. We want you to write for us. You can have a weekly paid article at the newspaper.”

I was extremely happy. My column was called Scattered Paintings. I wrote film reviews and critical analysis for about a year. It was during this period that Bahraini film, A Bahraini Story, was being filmed and Fareed had penned the script, which he allowed me to read so I could study scriptwriting.

It led me to write my first script, which I shared with Fareed. His feedback was encouraging and he pushed me to film the story.

You had never used a camera at the time?

I had never used a camera and had never been on a set or film location. Fareed talked to Abdallah Al Saadawi at the Al Sawari Theater and sent him my script… Within four to five days, I had a group of 15 people who wanted to help me shoot the film with the help of a tiny camera and a sound technician. It was the middle of the Holy Month, Ramadan, and we had to shoot in Sakhir at night. It was extremely tiring and when it was over, I was convinced I would never shoot another film again.

Then I got the chance to show my film at a film festival in the UAE. There, when I saw the film on the big screen with the audience, I changed my point of view. I saw something different. These were not the same people I used to sell cinema tickets to; they looked at the cinema the same way I did. There was a whole world I didn’t know about.

That’s when I started making short films on a yearly basis. These were shown at film festivals and won some awards.

Who helped you throughout this journey?  Who was on your side? Who contributed to help you improve?

From the beginning, it was Fareed Ramadan. From the time I started writing my first script until I directed my first film, I was always in touch with him. He had more experience in this field, and had worked in many different films. I really improved, and we had a really strong friendship.

Do you consider him a mentor?

He’s a mentor and a friend. We share so much in common, and he has always been there, constantly in touch with me. Today, he’s also my business partner. Back then, the cinema was just beginning here. You needed to work on yourself in order to improve. I started working on myself, and Fareed started working on himself, and we started working together to improve ourselves. Even with the age difference, we became friends. We share everything. We have so much in common, and he has always been there, constantly in touch with me.

Are there any people in the field, in Bahrain or the Arab world, who you consider role models? People you look up to?

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, director of the Gulf Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival, is one of the people I most respect, because of what he has done for the region’s cinema and young talent. If he had not started these events and supported us, I do not think we would have the same motivation. I am always learning from the example he sets.

Do you think that there is enough support from the Bahraini government, Bahraini associations, and companies to improve the movie-making field and support youth in Bahrain?

There is a lack of awareness about the filmmaking industry and local potential in the field.

From 2005 to 2011, there was no support from any Bahraini company for filmmaking. In 2011, Bahrain Film Production supported the production of two short films.

Then in 2012, I established the Bahrain Film Fund of the Ministry of Culture, which supported the production of five short films. Unfortunately, the fund was short-lived and only lasted for one year. More recently though, the Ministry of Culture established Bahrain Film Days, which supported the production of 13 short films.

When I set about making my feature film, The Sleeping Tree, then Minister of State for Information Affairs, Sameera Rajab, supported the film and we entered into a production agreement with both the Information Affairs Authority and the Bahrain Development Bank subsequently through the vision of Shaikh Hisham Al Khalifa. In fact, they were our biggest supporters in the making of The Sleeping Tree.

If you were in a decision-making position or got the chance to make a plan to improve the film industry in Bahrain, what would you do first?

It’s a very obvious strategy. I would acknowledge and support local filmmakers through scholarships for film-related studies by the Ministry of Education.

Is the Ministry supporting any other artistic field?

I really don’t know if there is anything for the theater or music. Maybe there are scholarships, but I know that there is nothing for the cinema.

Within 15 or 20 years, we should have a generation capable of making a complete film with local expertise. How do you build that? First, you have to study. You provide courses and scholarships.

When I became a director, I started going to master classes with famous directors. I went to the Asian Film Academy and the Berlin Talent Campus, and I took courses in screenwriting.

Did you go on your own, or was a chance offered to you?

I went on my own. It was all personal effort, but I know that if I gave this chance to others, it would help them improve.

Maybe you can become a decision-maker in the future.

Audience perceptions and tastes also have to be considered.

Local audiences are prepared to watch American, Indian, and Egyptian films, and as a result, the companies screening films should be encouraged to also screen local films, even if they do not have an audience—and of course, they won’t! People are not prepared to watch a Gulf film.

They have other expectations IT SEEMS.

While filmmakers, technicians, actors and others in the industry are developing, audience perceptions should also be tackled, which takes time. They want to see Arnold, Jackie Chan, Limby, Adel Imam. When you mention Jamal Al Ruwaie or Haifa Hussain, they will say “No, I watch those on TV, not in the cinema.’ Their minds are set in a certain way. Even if they watched them at the cinema, it would feel like theater.

As you can see, preparing the audience is the hardest mission, because they are not prepared to watch local films. You need to prepare filmmakers and technicians and actors; and you need to prepare the audience, which takes time. When you prepare filmmakers, Bahrain Cinema will be preparing the audience for you, and this is the right way to start a film industry.

Tell me about Nooran Pictures. What does it do? When did you establish it, and what was the journey like?

That was also established with Fareed Ramadan. We wanted to make a feature film, but could only do so through a corporate framework for legal purposes. Without it, you can’t sign contracts or get people to cooperate with you. We made it clear that cinema was going to be our specialization, and if any director in Bahrain needed any sort of help to make a narrative film, Nooran Pictures would help them. It’s a company, but we don’t care about profit. We are here for any director who needs help with permission, financial support, or restrictions.  We try to get support for local short film directors from international film festivals.

We do a lot of things without cost, because our main goal is to establish a young generation capable of making films.

At the same time, Nooran Pictures produced The Sleeping Tree. The film was screened at the Dubai International Film Festival last month.

Tell me about The Sleeping Tree. What was the vision for the film?

Discussions about the story and the development of a feature film started between Fareed Ramadan and myself in 2008. The script was developed between 2008 and 2014. We wanted to make a film in line with global standards, but which was rooted in Bahraini identity – traditions and culture, and which could be screened in international film festivals.

We tried to get support from film funds around the world, but the project kept getting rejected because Bahrain is considered a rich country. But in 2012 the script and story of The Sleeping Tree was nominated for the IWC Filmmaker Award in the Dubai International Film Festival. This was a tremendous honour as our project was chosen from 125 feature films and although we did not win, it helped us get support from the Information Affairs Authority and the Bahrain Development Bank.

We tried to get all the support we could from film funds around the world, but the project kept getting rejected because Bahrain is considered a rich country, and therefore should not be given support. We had the strategy that this film would be a template for any film director who wanted to make a Bahraini feature film. Future filmmakers can now follow the same steps we took, especially when it comes to funding. We tried to maintain a micro-budget to the greatest extent possible.

In 2012, an award was given at the Dubai Film Festival called the IWC Filmmaker Award. This was for the best cinema film project in the Gulf, and our film was nominated along with three other films for this award. The prize was $ 100,000. The four films were chosen from 125 feature films. We were nominated, but we did not win. The fact that film was nominated opened many doors for us here in Bahrain and abroad. The Information Affairs Authority joined us, along with Bahrain Development Bank and others.

We went through so much during the making of this film. It made me want to stop sometimes and say, “I won’t be able to make a feature film in Bahrain. Let me just go back to short films,” but something always pushed me back on track. It was a nearly impossible project until we started filming. I thank God that after eight or nine years of work, we were able to present a film that was celebrated at the Dubai Film Festival. There was a gala night, and critics gave positive reviews.

You deserve all the best. When will we be able to watch the film in Bahrain?

We won’t show the film in Bahrain until we have prepared the audience to accept the idea of a local film. The movie was screened in Dubai, and it was hit; the media covered it, but a lot of people still don’t know about it. Our goal is for the film to be screened at different international film festivals in order to give it a name, and then we can show it in Bahrain. In Bahrain, we have the problem of distribution, and companies in the Gulf are few.

I hope to screen the movie in Bahraini cinemas in the second half of 2015.

What kind of advice would you give to future directors or filmmakers who want to enter this field?

If you want to go into the film industry, it should be because you are passionate about it and believe you have a story to tell. If you want to become a moviemaker in Bahrain, think of local identity and the culture, and avoid copying Hollywood or Bollywood films. Each has its own identity, and if you want to create cinema, it should be based upon your identity. That’s what’s going to make you special.

Anyone can make a film, so if you have a story, go and make a movie. Nowadays, people don’t care about technique as much as they care about the story. Go make your movie, even if you use a phone camera. There are many short films screened at film festivals that were shot using phones, and now there are even film festivals for films shot using a phone camera. It’s not a complicated process. I had a tiny camera, and didn’t know anything about lighting during the filming of my first film, but it turned out well. My second film, which was screened at 50 to 60 film festivals, won 17 awards and was shot using a simple camera.

Which one was it?

It was The Absence, and the movie won awards even though it cost less than BD 80—because we made it with love. We had two behind the camera, two actors, the montage, location, and tapes—and that’s it.

I have always helped those who came to me needing advice, because I want to give people entering the world of cinema what I wished someone had given to me. When I wanted to make movies, I did not receive any support. Now I’m giving others the things I wish I had, and if I can give something to myself, then I can definitely give it to the people around me.

Are you helping other filmmakers because of the obstacles you faced in the past that you were able to overcome?

Yes, but it all started because I wanted to improve. I used to write and watch movies a lot, but I also read a lot about the industry itself, and I would order university books about moviemaking from Amazon.

If you are a director, you don’t need to know how to use a camera. You don’t need to know about sound engineering, and you don’t need to know about montage, in the beginning. The most important thing is for you to know how to tell your story. That’s the director’s role: how to tell a story and control the location.

Other professionals will work with you: the cinematographer, the sound engineer and an editor. These are their jobs, while yours is to tell a story with feeling and emotion.

Your knowledge in technical areas can be improved with time and practice. The most important thing is for you to have culture, intellect, and knowledge of the cinema in addition to knowledge of the story you want to tell and how best to introduce it to the audience.

Did you get any financial support from foundations to establish the company? Did your company get any support from Tamkeen?

We got support from the Bahrain Development Bank who helped us establish the company and then produce the film.

I was in a TV interview, and later in the day, I was sitting in a café, and a family member approached me. He said, “I saw you today on TV.” He told me about the help BDB provides, in case I needed anything. I said, “Of course I do. I need to start a company for the film.” He told me to visit them, and they would try to give me as much as they could.

BDB supported us, and because of them, we were able to get everything we needed to start a company. We did not originally have capital. We rented offices, and Tamkeen paid a percentage. That really helped us in the process of starting this company. The trust they gave us made us feel like we were on a solid ground, and then we felt like we could start establishing cinema. BDB was our first and most important supporter in the founding of the company.

Did you benefit from any of the programs Tamkeen provided?

Filmmaking is a new area for Tamkeen; they have no programmes that cater to filmmakers’ needs. We had many meetings with them about how they could support the film industry, but we could not get an answer, and they could not offer us anything.

What was the biggest mistake you made over the years? Is there something you wish you had known 10 years ago?

There was nothing, at that time, that I wished to be different; and nothing major has changed over the years, expect for the places that offer support. I do wish I had studied filmmaking and that I will get the chance to go to film school.

Cinema is a dream, and this dream is never personal. It takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to achieve. It’s teamwork. I’ve had many chances to leave Bahrain, but I wanted to give to my country and establish cinema here. A part of that came true, but we still have miles to go.

Thank you Mohammed for the chance to talk to you. I learned a lot and I’m sure our readers will do too. This was inspiring, thank you.

More about ‘the sleeping TREE’

“The Sleeping Tree” is Bahrain’s first feature film in ten years, directed by Mohammed Buali, written by Fareed Ramadan, and produced by Suha Matar.

Bedridden, Amina has cerebral palsy and her parents, Jassim and Noora, must ensure that she receives the proper care. While Noora stays home to take care of her daughter, Jassim’s refusal to participate in family life heightens the tensions pervading the family. Constrained and desperate, the couple lead separate lives which seem to collide.

A series of coincidences, however, bring new light as Jassim moves in between reality and hope… When he takes his brother’s taxi, he embarks on the journey of his life. There, at the legendary Tree of Life, he becomes mesmerized by his passengers’ attraction to the tree and is suddenly overwhelmed by the surroundings.

In an unexpected convergence of experiences, life seems to be meaningful once more. But like all their encounters, Jassim and Noora’s happiness is fleeting and their marriage is tested time and again.

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