YallaTV

I'm honoured to announce that YallaTV is featuring my work for the first of their #FocusOnTheFilmmaker series. You can view To Rest in Peace online, as well as a short video interview.

YallaTV is the first site dedicated to the Arab Independent Filmmaker. They have shorts, animations, documentaries, music videos, and feature films.

CLERMONT-FERRAND

To Rest in Peace will be part of a special screening of Kuwaiti short films at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. The screening is curated by Talal Muhanna, and will feature films by Meqdad Al-Kout, Mousaed Khaled, Omar Al-Masab, Monira Al-Qadiri, Basil El-Hadi, Mohamed Walid Ayyad, Faisal Al-Duwaisan, and Dawood Shuail.

WHEN: February 5, 2013, at 9AM.

WHERE: Georges Conchon Theater.

It's been over a year since the last festival submission for To Rest in Peace. We've been very fortunate to have the film continue being requested for screenings all over the world. Clermont-Ferrand always has a strong USC presence, with our ambassador from the Festivals Office, Sandrine Cassidy, in attendance. And this group of Kuwaiti filmmakers is particularly strong. I've seen some of their films before, and look forward to seeing them again.

For an insight into the Clermont-Ferrand experience, check out this blog post by John Dion, a good friend of mine whose thesis film Cupid (edited by yours truly) played at the festival last year.

New website

Welcome to the new website and blog!

I'm shifting gears towards my commercial and music video work. You'll still find updates on To Rest in Peace, as well as other projects currently in the works. There's a music video coming out soon, some more festivals to announce, and an exciting feature script in development. Occasionally I'll post about something that inspires me. For now, have a look at the new one-minute directing reel.

2013 has started with strong momentum. I look forward to sharing the new work as it unfolds!

Toronto Premiere

[photo by Alex Dounets]

After a year and a half on the festival circuit, To Rest in Peace will finally have its Toronto premiere!

Screening at the Toronto Beaches Film Festival, on Saturday June 30th at 11:30AM. We are screening before the feature documentary, If I Should Fall.

It's been a good run. We've screened all over the world, including Cannes, Kuwait, Dubai, London, New York and Los Angeles, and won awards for writing, directing, cinematography, editing, music, audience choice, and best short film.

But this screening holds a special significance. The seed for To Rest in Peace was planted in Toronto, in 2005. Producer Josh Clavir and I had just finished our second collaboration, Her Music Led, an adaptation of John Keats' La Belle Dame Sans Merci. We sat talking about the adventure of making that small film in the woods of Caledon in the dead of winter, hauling HMIs with a wheelbarrow down a slippery slope, and standing for twelve hours in a foot of snow with the water seeping in to our cold, cold toes. It was during this meeting that we started sharing stories that had inspired us, that we thought would make great films 'one day.'

I told Josh about my uncle Malek, and his heroics during the Occupation of Kuwait, including how he buried two dead strangers by the side of the road. Years later, while doing my masters in film production at USC, I wrote a script, and that script became a thesis film. Josh flew down from Toronto, and spent a semester with me in Los Angeles, getting the movie made.

That 'one day' had arrived, To Rest in Peace was finished, and now, as we travelled the festival circuit and worked on other projects, we talked about premiering the film in Toronto 'one day.' Now that new 'one day' has arrived. It's June 30th. We hope to see you there.

Award at PCFMF

To Rest in Peace won at the Park City Film Music Festival, placing third in the short film category. Congratulations to our composer, Leah Curtis, and the talented team she brought on board.

The picture above is Leah (on the right) with festival director Leslie Harlow.

You can listen to two pieces from To Rest in Peace below, including Salamun Salam, which won 'best world song' at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2010.

Park City Film Music Festival

To Rest in Peace is screening at the Park City Film Music Festival, on Tuesday, May 29th at 12:15pm, and Saturday, June 2nd at 3:15pm. You can purchase tickets online on their Festival Genius page.

Congrats to Leah Curtis, and the artists who brought her score to life! You can listen to the To Rest in Peace soundtrack online.

Leah was also recently nominated for two categories at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, for her Exitus Roma song, 'Animal Vagula,' with vocalist Lisbeth Scott. Their previous collaboration, 'Salamun Salam' from the To Rest in Peace soundtrack, won 'Best World Song' in 2010. The award ceremony will be held on November 15th.

SHIFT Kuwait & May Festivals

To Rest in Peace has continued its festival run, screening at four events since the DGA in April.

We're honoured to have screened at SHIFT, a charity event that seeks to shift your perspective on Kuwaiti cinema. I had a chance to see most of these films on the festival circuit, and to meet some of the filmmakers. From all accounts, it was a successful evening, and I wish I could have been there to celebrate.

We also screened with a showcase of USC films at the Newport Beach Film Festival, a few miles away from where we shot most of To Rest in Peace (at El Toro Airfield).

Our Italian premiere happened in Naples, with the Social World Film Festival. 

And we went back to the mountains for the Lake Arrowhead Film Festival in California.

Awards at the DGA

To Rest in Peace screened at the Directors Guild of America yesterday, with a showcase of USC films.

We took home the Fotokem bronze award, and the First Look audience award. Congrats to the cast and crew!

Congrats also to John Dion, our 1st A.D., whose thesis film Cupid won the faculty award for best screenwriting.

And thanks to everyone who came out and made it such a special night.