Egyptian director Yousef Shahin began gearing up for his new film al Ghadhab (Anger) in which he tackles the September 11 attacks. He also completes his biography which he started in the films Eskandaria Laih (Alexandria Why?), Haddoutah Misriyyah (Egyptian Story) and Eskandaria Kaman Wa Kaman (Alexandria More and More).
“My relationship with the US is complex and bigger than what other people have. I studied in the US where I fell in love for the first time. I dealt with Americans and got angry with them many times and so I called my film al Ghadhab (Anger). It is the anger due to their foreign policy and the responsibility of the American people for this policy as they elect their rulers. I feel angry at their capitalistic system, which prevents them from buying any film whatever it is. They would like any proceeds to go to their films even if these amount to two dollars,” Shahin told the daily al Ahram.
He added that his film would feature his biography including his youth, study period which was important to him and complex too. “The difficult thing about this is that 50 years have passed since then with my relations with them still going on,” said Shahin.
He added, “I think settlement of what is going on now worldwide needs long time so that the Americans will understand that we as Arabs call for peace and love amongst all people.”
Shahin pointed out that there is no relationship between his long narrative film al Ghadhab and his short film he is currently shooting in Beirut about September 11 attacks. “Feeling is different and the film conveys future vision but the matter is limited in the case of the short film. The difficulty stems from the fact that 11 international directors present their vision about the event. All the films will be screened simultaneously and will answer a specific question: What is your feeling about the event?” said Shahin -- Albawaba.com
