Ziad Doueiri - Q&A through Skype
We are sad to announce that Ziad Doueiri is unfortunately not able to get here for the the screenings of The Attack during the Arabian Film Days 2013. Due to foggy weather conditions, his flight was delayed and his missed his connection. But we are able to have him with us live through Skype!
Ziad Doueiri is a Lebanese director with a fascinating track record in the world of cinema. Even before directing his first feature, Doueiri had an exciting and comprehensive career behind him. After completing film school in the US in 1992, he got hired as a camera assistant in Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino – an unknown director t the time. The cooperation between the two proved to be fruitful, and continued from 1994 to 1997 with the movies Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, From Dusk Till Dawn and Jackie Brown. Doueiri also worked as a cameraman on movies like Under Siege with Steven Seagal and Trial and Error with Jeff Daniels.
Although Doueiri is proud of his work with Tarantino, and says he learned a lot from him, he'd rather not talk about it. He's simply had enough with being asked about Tarantino wherever he goes, when what he's there for is to talk about his own productions. He is a director now – on his own terms.
Doueiri made his debut as a feature director in 1998 with the critically acclaimed West Beirut. The movie brought home the Francois Chalais Prize from the Cannes Film Festival and the International Talent Prize from the Toronto Film Festival the same year. The plot revolves around two young boys experimenting with Super 8-film at the breakout of the Lebanese civil war in 1975. His next movie, Lila Says (2004), is set in the Arab ghetto of Marseilles, where a young man finds himself in a relationship with Lila, a highly sexualised young girl. At this year's Arabian Film Days, Doueiri brings with him The Attack. This is a thought-provoking film shot in Israel, dealing with topics like terrorism and murder, but also deep love.
Doueiri is already working on his next project, with the title Foreign Affairs. This movie, starring the French old-timer Gérard Depardieu, also has Middle East connections. Perhaps something for next year's program?