Mesocafe

The latest news updates: 

Pre-Production

The shoot

IMDB Page

June 28th; week 29 of post-production

This week I have been wearing my post-production backup hat: Logging sound files and creating an EDL list of the shot takes we used in the current cut of the film; liaising between Schuman and Daniel - editor and special visual effects creator, respectively - over the green screen items that need to be inserted into TV sets and computer screens in film scenes at the cafe, the office and hotel room; spending time mulling over the most viable "on-lining" route for the project; taking stock of the amount of subtitling I need to do for the parts in the film that require a translation for the audience [the film's dialogue is entirely in the English language; however, there are TV items that the characters watch at the cafe which are in Arabic and therefore would need subtitling]; lastly, thinking of the final two male characters that I need to record in voiceover.

This gathering reminded me of the night before the start of the shoot back in November 2008; we were to have our first read through of the script with Nasri Sayegh [he plays the character of Yusif in the film] and Daphne Alexander [she plays the character of Bisan], in addition to sit Ahlam, sayyid Kawa, sayyid Aziz and Zain. Arij had booked us into this wonderful studio space in Kentish Town. I'd had a particularly long day, had just received confirmation from Khalid Laith that he will play the part of Hisham in the film - this would turn out to be one of my best casting decisions in the entire film, and it had taken me forever to find the location for the read through at a converted 19th century industrial estate. The cite of sayyid Mazin standing at the iron and simple glass gate of the building, cigarette and tea mug in hand, brought back memories of the rehearsals for "A Democracy and a Half", the Arabic language play that sit Ahlam had directed and staged in London during the summer of 2007. I was privileged to be allowed to film the entire process from the first tentative readings of the script of the play, all the way through to full-dress rehearsal and opening night at the Polish Arts Centre, Hammersmith, in July 2007. Sayyid Mazin, along with sayyid Kawa, were the central ingredients for the conviviality and warmth that permeated the rehearsals of "A Democracy and a Half".

We also had a look at a scene in the film that needed some tweaking.

As I write this, I am aware of how little progress I've made under my post-production backup hat. Must do better.

Over the week, I have heard from a couple of friends and colleagues asking for progress updates on the film. All very encouraging.

Until next week,

Ja'far

June 21st; week 28 of post-production

Soft-fluffy-cotton-like dramatically formed clouds and a rich, slightly sweetened-Bialetti-made-espresso greeted me on this - the longest - day in the year. What more could a man ask for!

I have been reminiscing over solstices past and remembering my journey with Mesocafe: Not sure when exactly I first put on paper the title, Mesocafe; think an inkling, a tingle, a smile began to radiate in my eyes during the summer of 2003. I had an idea.
Fast forward to December 2005, and I am hunched over my laptop at my friend's home overhearing my dearest friends sayyid Wajdi and sayyid Layth debate whether it would be best to heat the Bamya (Okra) stew to go with the rice, or live on the edge and try those frozen Kubbahs/ground lamb, pine nuts, cracked wheat, olive oil and spices. Long after the said Kubbahs were thawed, fried and devoured - they were delicious, I was still working on what would become the first of ten-pages- plus treatments that form the basis for the film. I was so excited by what felt like an inspiration, a daydream hurriedly typed into the word processor, that I couldn't wait to get back home to look up my notes and begin the next draft of the treatment. I braved the December frost and walked home from St John's Wood to my part of town - some 90 minutes away.

May 2006: I am sitting in the front garden of a simple pension in Nice. I am supposed to be here to enjoy the Cannes film festival, taking place only twenty minutes away by train. Yet, I am spending the greater part of the day working on the thesis for which I need to do yet another rewrite before submitting it to my supervisor by the end of May. When I booked the trip, I thought I would have successfully completed this round of rewrites well before the arrival of May.

On the one day that I manage to peel myself away from the laptop, I head to Cannes. It happens to be the evening on which Oliver Stone and some of the cast of Platoon (Dir. Oliver Stone, 1986) are climbing the red-carpet for a special 20th anniversary screening at the festival.
After attempting a few B/W snaps on my manual SLR, I find myself a bench in the garden just behind the Palais du Festival and start jotting away yet another update to the ten-page treatment of that night in December.

November 2006: Geneva: Have always wanted to visit, especially since my dearest friend, the closet anyone can get to being the childhood friend of this immigrant, had regaled me with his stories of visiting the city as an apprentice at one of the better known watch-manufacturers.
In between visiting the Museums and marveling at how expensive food and drink are here, I begin the first outline for Mesocafe. I am negotiating the birth of the actual narrative structure that we would film two years later.
Before I head back to London, I send my childhood friend a postcard: "this trip was inspired by you, sayyid Ahmad."

February 2007: I send the first draft of the script to the screenplay-writing course tutor with whom I'd taken three courses in the 1990s. We'd kept in touch; she had kindly read and commented upon a couple of short scripts I sent her. Although the films didn't get made, the mentoring I received from her was far more valuable than the several tomes of "How to Write a Screenplay" manuals that one usually stumbles into before inflicting one's writing upon an unsuspecting world:-)

Her feedback consisted of questions, suggestions and ideas. For me, this framework in our collaboration was far more instructive and helpful than hiring a co-writer. For one thing, one couldn't afford the fees commanded by a good scriptwriter; moreover, the overlapping stories within the overall narrative would have taken forever to explain and develop with someone else involved.

I would read the feedback, spend a couple of weeks recuperating from the minor depression that invariably followed the reading of the notes, constructive in the extreme though they were, and then I would start all over again. This process continued all the way until the summer of 2008 when the feedback ended with: "these notes are from one writer to another".

Now, something resembling confidence in the maturity of the script began to develop. The writer, however, wasn't so sure about this budding director. The director: "well, if you think you're so great..."  I assured them both - "trust me, I am the producer, it will be alright on the day!...  Guys, what did I say? you look as if you'd seen a ghost!" :-)

Forward to the present; on Thursday I found myself back on Putney Bridge to meet Schuman, our editor. I say "back", as we had met on the bridge the day after we digitized all the rushes. On January 22nd, also a Thursday, I met Schuman here to return the keys for the studio. We'd completed the digitizing process just before midnight, and the HDCam SR deck needed to be collected the next morning, when Schuman would be away editing at a facility in Putney.

This last Thursday's meeting was so Schuman would hand me some audio and video files for the film.
On the way back, I looked back at that other Ja'far who met Schuman on the bridge in January - how anxious, worried and wary he was of what appeared to be a long, arduous and uncharted route in post-production of a feature that he knew still was in need of a couple pickup shoots, some ADR,  music,  news footage that would need copyright clearance, not to mention the actual process of editing the whole project and moulding it into the final work that awaits its birth in the eyes, minds and hearts of the audience.
Anxious, worried and wary I still am, with a few gray hairs to boot:-) 
The work that Schuman and all the Mesocafe family have put into the film is beginning to shine through.

I think the writer is beginning to believe in the director; the producer is still trying to get them on side:-)

Finally, Why Mesocafe?  The title of the film was inspired by the manner in which the name of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar was shortened to "Nabucco" in Verdi's great opera: "Meso" stands for Mesopotamia.

Until next week,
Ja'far
 

June 14th; week 27 of post-production

ADR - we are still talking ADR this week: on Monday, I was back at the studio in Hammersmith to re-record the mother's dialogue. Although we had recorded the said parts of the scripts a few weeks ago, I had failed to time the duration of the responses the mother's character makes to Yusif's lines. This created a slight absence of harmony between the two performances, especially in view of the mother being off-screen at the other end of a telephone conversation. Badria Timimi most magnanimously put up with the shortcomings of this budding director and agreed to return to the studio for another session.

I took the opportunity to re-record the voice of the intelligence officer, played by yours truly - uncredited, i'll have you know:-). "Once more, with emotion this time!!" I said to myself:-)

On Monday evening, I held a brief meeting with Schuman, our editor, and Axle Cheeng, our sound recordist and post-production audio supremo. Honestly, what is it about these heads of department? You get two of them together, and before you know it, you feel you need to reach for some sort of a "Film-Tech Terminology For Dummies" for every second word they say to one another- they were talking "OMF", "Sound Reels" and something to do with bit rates. Should've paid more attention at that course at the Lux Centre in 1999:-)

We all agreed that Schuman would produce the said "OMF" over the next week, while I would create a log for scene, slate and take numbers used in the edit. A sort of EDL to help Axle locate the exact sound files we've used.

It is now Sunday evening, and I am about to head to work. Have just received an email from Schuman saying that the OMF file will be ready by tomorrow evening.

I fear, I have not been as efficient as he; I am still on scene 20 out of 139 scenes:-)

Natalie Holt, our composer, has sent through a sketch for the main theme for the soundtrack. Loved it; a melody with rich and languid sweeps.

After I complete my seven nights at the office on Thursday morning, I will liaise with Daniel, our production designer and post-production visual SFX creator, regarding all the green-screen items that he's already compositing. I will also chat with Schuman regarding a few minor adjustments to the edit.

Mostly, however, I will be occupied with the re-writes and proof reading of the phd thesis that I spoke of last summer. If you remember, I sat the viva - the oral examination lasting just under three hours, with two professors inspecting every line, footnote and bibliography item in the 100,000-word thesis- back in April last year. I was given a conditional pass; conditional upon re-writing the introduction and making a few changes to the main body of the thesis. Around this time last year, I made the decision to postpone any further work on this phonebook-sized brick of a tome and focus all free time away from the office on the Mesocafe pre-production. I think that was an inspired decision, as pre-production was the stage in which I think we may have averted one or two major disasters during the shoot.  I have until the end of the summer to complete all the examiners' requirements. Hopefully, I will make it. It would be a shame to waste over eight years of part-time academic study now that I am at the final hurdle.

In case you're interested, the topic of the doctorate is literary adaptations in cinema, with films from the Arab world as case studies.

I have heard from Daphne Alexander, who plays the female lead in our film; she has just finished shooting her part in Roman Polanski's latest feature, "The Ghost". Can't wait to see the film and also to chat with Daphne about her experience working with the great man.

I have also heard from Seamus Newham, who plays the role of a high-ranking civil servant in our film; he is busy rehearsing Yukio Mishima's double-bill entitled: "Hanjo and Hell Screen" at the Oval House Theatre. "Like your film company," Seamus writes, "we have an international cast and crew from all over the globe: Japan; Brazil; China; France; Croatia; America etc."

Until next week,
Ja'far
 

June 7th; week 26 of post-production

On Monday, Schuman and I finally had the opportunity to sit through a screening of the second rough cut.
Although Schuman has edited the film, and has watched and inspected every frame of the rushes, this was the first time that he had the chance to watch the whole film from start to finish.
Having watched the rough cut a few times already, I was keen to see and hear how Schuman felt after this first viewing.

His reaction exceeded my expectations; his comments on the pacing of the scenes, the sense of humour and the performance was very encouraging indeed - like most good and experienced editors, Schuman's feedback is always objective, constructive and honest.

On Tuesday, I had my first walk through the new Westfield Shopping Centre in West London. I was there to meet our composer, Natalie Holt, and was impressed by the expanse of a complex built in central London.
Natalie has already begun writing sketches for Mesocafe with a view to having a fully scored and recorded original film music over the next few weeks.

On the way back from the meeting, I reflected on how relatively "long-term" my working partnership has been with some of the Mesocafe family members. For example, I first contacted Natalie after attending the screening of her NFTS graduation films in February 2007. We stayed in touch over the past two years and had our first meeting a few weeks ago.

On Wednesday, I had my first TV interview for "Mescoafe": Ghada Sulayman from the Arabic satellite station "ANB" kindly invited me to the station's West London studios to record her programme "Min London/ From London". "Don't zoom in on me, please", I whispered into my microphone, hoping the director would hear me in the gallery. There was this you-can-see-from-outer-space spot that had decided to take a mushroom shape right on my chin the night before the interview... Thankfully, the studio floor manager  and the sound recordist helped the director avoid the colossus south of  the mouth...

I spent a couple more days before the weekend with Schuman working towards a "fine cut"- the pre-picture lock stage.

Daniel is liaising with Schuman regarding all the visual SFX.

On Saturday evening, I had hot chocolate with sit Ahlam Arab, who plays "Zaynab" in the film. The meeting was after attending the staging of a play at the Polish Centre, Hammersmith, directed by and starring Sami Kaftan, the Iraqi actor whose film career includes the San Sebastian award winning "Zaman: The Man from the Reeds" (Dir. Amer Alwan, 2003). The play, "Sawt wa Surah / Sight and Sound", also stars Nahidah al-Rammah, a prominent actress in Iraqi theatre and in the small harvest of feature films that the film industry in Iraq produced over the past 65 years.

Before I head back to work next week, I am spending a bit more time with Schuman to look at the audio and any issues we may need to highlight for the benefit of Axle, our sound recordist and designer.

Films I've watched this week:
"Synecdoche, New York" (Dir. Charlie Kaufman, 2008): for his directorial debut  the writer of "Being John Malkovich" (Dir. Spike Jonze, 1999) and "Adaptation" (Dir. Spike Jonze, 2002) has made some particularly challenging choices, not least of which a title that no one seems to know how to pronounce. That aside, I loved Kaufman's narrative structure, his confidence in the audience and his evident belief that  they will get it. Heartily recommend it.

Quote of the week:
"The job of a director [in theatre] is to make the negligible noticeable". Jonathan Miller speaking at the National Theatre on Friday, June 5th.

Until next Sunday,
Peace and love,
Ja'far

May 31st; week 25 of post-production

I headed to the office on Monday night with fully replenished energy tanks; I'd spent the day editing with Schuman.
The night before, I had made extensive notes on the rough cut, and the day was spent going through the timeline scene by scene.
 
On Wednesday, I was back at the sound studio in Hammersmith for the penultimate ADR/voiceover recording session:
During principal photography, Ryad-Mr-boom-boom-Sari had kindly stepped into the breach and saved the day by acting the role of the passport officer at Baghdad airport. A voice to reflect the Iraqi accent of the character needed to be laid beneath Ryad's natural and confident performance.
 
As I was preparing the scripts for the ADR session on Wednesday morning, I realized that we still don't have the football commentary for the match that the regulars watch at the cafe. Somehow, I managed to type out a page's worth of football commentary in Arabic, recalling how sports commentators from my part of the world enthused over this shot on goal and that pass across the field - oh, whom am I kidding here; i know nothing about football commentary. Fortunately, it will all be in the background of the soundtrack, with the audience focused on the characters watching the game and adopting the Arabic version of "are you blind, ref" school of thought.
 
We began the recording session with Amanda, who'd generously agreed to return for a very brief recording session to cover a couple short links for her news presenting character.
 
Yasmin Bodalbhai also joined the Mesocafe family by recording the off-screen role of a passenger at Baghdad airport. Hers will be the first voice we will hear on the soundtrack of the film. Very pleased to have had the opportunity of working with Yasmin.
 
Another welcome addition to the family was Essam Idris, a British-Palestinian actor, for the voice of the passport officer at Baghdad airport. Just before we headed into the studio, I handed Essam the text for the football commentator. He literally had 15 minutes to go through it. Once we'd recorded the passport officer dialogue, Essam threw me with the passion, joy, and incredibly "real" delivery of the sports commentator's piece. Graham, the sound engineer, had to reset the levels in order to capture the changed pitch and projection in Essam's voice. Wonderful.
 
The final four hours were dedicated to some ADR by Emil Hajj, a Lebanese actor who I later realized had worked with Houda Echouafni, who plays Suad in our film, in her latest feature film "31 North 62 East" (Dir. Tristan Loraine, 2009).
 
Graham was instrumental in getting the ADR to work- he synched the scene to the image, and guided Emil and I through pronunciation and delivery of the dialogue. Graham was concerned that he was stepping into my territory as a director; I assured him that I had enough respect for our budding collaboration to be candid and let him know. Like the rest of the project, I am more than happy - grateful - to take guidance and notes from members of the Mesocafe family.
 
In addition to taking it upon himself to spend more time after the recording session to edit the recorded dialogue, Graham travelled halfway across London to deliver the synched ADR scenes to my place of work - the office - just before midnight. Thank you.
 
Schuman's task on Thursday morning was made a tad less taxing as he laid the new ADR soundtracks beneath the image. After a bit of tweaking, Schuman was content with the result. Great.
 
On arriving home after work on Friday morning, I was relieved to receive a text from Schuman informing me that the rendered files of the film will not be ready before 1.30 in the afternoon; I was desperate for a few hours of sleep.
 
Schuman later related to me how it had taken the project over five hours to render; he couldn't do any other work or retouch other projects he was editing.
 
The international courier arrived at 5.30 in the afternoon to collect the documents I needed to send to a film organisation abroad. I realized I wouldn't be able to complete the re-writes and proof-reading in the ten minutes that he offered to wait. He had other pickups to make. On noticing how disappointed I was with myself for not completing the task in time, he suggested I head to the main depot for the courier company close to Heathrow airport. "They close at 8:00", he said as he accelerated towards his next collection.
 
Managed to make it to the depot on time. The lady behind the counter assured me the documents would be delivered on time. She also offered me a nugget of knowledge: "if you deliver your next parcel/ envelope directly to us, you'll make a saving of 50% on the charge you would normally pay!". God, this must be my day:-) Now how do I spend the savings I am going to make with all submission forms and packs I will send to film festival over the summer?:-)
 
On Saturday, I finally had the opportunity to watch Tormented, directed by Jon Wright, and written by my good friend, Stephen Prentice.

Loved it.
The quality of the dialogue, the manner in which people refer to one another, and the way in which characters get chopped-up  (yes, a teen horror movie it is) is yet another proof of the importance of an accumulated knowledge and culture that a scriptwriter needs in creating and imparting his stories. I heard echoes of Greek tragedy, of Shakespeare, of Freud, to name but few. Mostly, I heard Stephen's voice in the way the characters spoke and interacted in the story.
 
To re-establish my happy medium of low and high culture, I give you Quote of the week:
"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."
Jessica Rabbit tells Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1988)

Until next week,
Peace,
Ja'far

May 24th; week 24 of post-production

After finishing the night shift on Thursday morning I headed to Schuman's studio for the first of two days' editing this week. By Friday evening, we'd been through the greater part of all the green-screen footage/items in the film. These include the Arabic and English language news footage, Yusif's blog and Hisham's community radio website. In view of this being for the benefit of duration and gauging how long each of these green-screen elements would need to be on the screen for, I thought it best to create a blog for Yusif and a simple web page for Hisham. I then filmed these with my trusty mini-DV camera. Schuman was able to insert the footage into the timeline on temporary basis.

Once we lock the picture, Daniel will work on creating the blog, the radio station website and also the TV news logos and backgrounds. He will also insert these into the green-screened TV sets and laptops we filmed on set.
Our composer, Natalie, is already working on scoring the film. She will send me a few rough sketches to try out on the timeline.

Something wonderful, heartwarming and inspiring happened over the past week: A good friend has had his feature film screenplay made into a widely distributed and well-publicised film.
The film: Tormented (Dir. Jon Wright, 2009)
Written by: Stephen Prentice

Having conversed over the years with Stephen about the film industry and about his various projects, and having received with gratitude his advice and genuine interest in my project, I can't help feeling a sense of pride whenever I pass a poster for my friend's feature film. Kudos, good sir.

My return tomorrow night back to the night shift will be marginally less dispiriting as I will spend the whole day on Monday working on the edit with Schuman:-)

Peace and salam,
Ja'far

May 17th; week 23 of post-production

I miss Cannes this year- it's the first time in three years that I am not experiencing the famed charm of the festival security team:
-"No, monsieur, you can not go in!"...
-"But I have a ticket! I've come all the way from London to see this film!"...
-"It's the wrong colour ticket!"...
-"but.."
-"Next!"
-"Hello, I mean 'Salut'"
-"Madame, you also can't get in..."
-"But I have the ticket..."
-"Next!"
- "Hey, do you want to grab a drink!"
-"What?"
-"The film's over-rated and the director had to rush the edit to make it to the festival... Best wait for the screening at the Curzon!"
Silence
-"I'll even try to blag our way into the cafe at the Carlton!"...
Oh, where is she going...

Mesocafe-wise: I've had three very productive days with Schuman editing. We have now weaved into the timeline the voiceovers of Bisan and Yusif. I am especially pleased with how well the voice of sayyid Sami Yako has settled into the scene of sayyid Dawood, Yusif, sayyid Hussayn, sit Zaynab and Hisham. The magic I experienced in the recording studio has elegantly moved into the scene.

The rushes from the 16mm pickups shoot on the 4th of May have come out really well. For some reason, my old Bolex 16mm camera, which we used for this particular shoot, decided to go all artsy on us for the reel which we used to film the mobile phone text message and the journey on the London Underground. The reel has produced some flower-power-psychedelic imagery which I am sure I will get to use in some montage of ecstasy and amour in a future film....

Other than this particular reel, the footage Alessio captured, with the support of Kate, is beautiful- I don't think my Bolex has ever produced such sumptuous imagery in its ten-year stint with me....

I met our composer, Natalie, during the week for a quick coffee. She's read the script and likes the story. A very good start. If there is one thing I've learnt from making Mesocafe.. make certain whoever joins the project is fully acquainted with the script and that they feel strongly about it. They love it. Otherwise, there is no point in having them on a project that they will have to work day and night for. Whether they're being paid or not is irrelevant.

Natalie has a broad understanding of the themes I have in mind for the film and I think she is more than capable of translating my brief and vague notes into a score that will help further embed the characters in the story, and help the audience engage more seamlessly with the narrative.

Until next week,
Peace and love - a la "Barbarella" :-)

May 10th; week 22 of post-production

May 10th; week 22 of post-production

On bank holiday Monday, we had the second and final-last-end-ultimate-fin day of pickups.
Let the images speak...

Next week, I am heading to Schuman's studio laden with goodies: rushes from the 16mm pickups, HDV footage we captured at the studio, plus ADR and voiceover files... I will also have some notes on the assembly which Schuman requested.

Until next week,
Ja'far

May 3rd; week 21 of post-production

The run-up to the final pickups shoot for Mesocafe:

The week begins with a morning meeting with sayyid 'Aziz al-Na'ib, who plays Hussayn, at a cafe adjacent to the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith. We spend a couple of hours going through the scene that he will ADR- the scene of him driving and relating to Yusif his stories as a smuggler of luxury goods across Europe to Iraq in the 1960s.
I contact Alessio, our DP, Kate, our first assistant camera, Axle, our sound recordist, and a couple other Meso family members. All seems to be well and almost everyone is available for the shoot.

By Monday evening, I am yet to cast for  the role of the Arabic news presenter, the role of Richard Field, Dr Mazin al-Wasati and voiceover for the passport officer at Baghdad airport.

Tuesday: Persevering with my quest for the illusive Arabic news presenter, I call sit Faten Karkouti, a good friend who kindly puts me in touch with Rhona Danil. When I call Rhona, it takes me a few seconds to realize that we'd met more than 12 years ago when she was working as an assistant producer at MBC, the then London-based Arabic broadcaster. Rhona agrees to take on the role. :-)

Sit Faten also puts me in touch with Esam Idris, an actor who recommends Rami Hilmi.

14:00: Outside Lyric theatre, before meeting with sayyid 'Aziz. I am on the phone with Rami. He is the epitome of charm. Rami agrees to take on the role of Dr Mazin al-Wasati- an influential member of the Iraqi opposition to the regime of Saddam Hussain. :-)

14:30: with sayyid 'Aziz at the cafe by the Lyric theatre, going through the scene. I am touched by the patience of this gentleman with the demands on his time that this budding filmmaker keeps making...

I am still short of an actor for the role of the passport officer at Baghdad airport.

Wednesday evening:

Sipping mint tea and munching sweets at a Moroccan cafe on Queensway. Sayyid Adam Dahrouge, sayyid Aziz al-Na'ib, sayyid Kawa Rasul, sayyid Zain al-Janabi et moi are going through the one scene between the characters of Peter, Masud and Tawfiq that we didn't get to film during principal photography.

I am having a great time just watching these three youngmen, with helpful encouragement from sayyid Aziz, make this newly re-written scene their own.

 I walk home.

Thursday:
10:45 heading for a meeting with a music composer I first contacted a couple of years ago regarding our film.

11:00 Meeting with the composer at the cafe adjacent to the Lyric theatre. I try to explain the melody, tempo and mood of music that would work with the story; she magnanimously ignores my illiteracy in musical terminology. She will get back to me after she has some time to read the script.

13:00: Walking towards Fuji Film on Poland Street- collecting film stock. The 100ft 16mm film cans are so small and cute- like miniature cans of fizzy drinks..

13:30: on phone with sayyid Nayef Rashed, the actor and head of the casting agency, www.genuinearabcasting.com. Sayyid Nayef kindly arranges for two actors to join us for the ADR session on Sunday.

14:00: at printers on Wardour street looking at the PDF image of a poster our graphic designer Hala Marji had created back in November. Daniel had changed the spelling of the author's name, and emailed it me. I think the spelling mistake was my own; not particularly good in proof reading:-)

14:30: Munching away a sandwich near Poland Street.

15:00: Handsfree kit on the ready, waiting for a call from Duncan Armitage, whom I had contacted regarding the role of "Richard Field". Duncan calls and reads the character sides for me over the telephone. I Offer Duncan the role on the spot. Very pleased that he agrees to join Meso.

15:45: Tottenham Court Road, collecting some HDV tapes for the shoot.

16:30: back home, emailing everyone confirmation for Sunday and Monday.

22:00: Back to Soho to collect the poster print. It looks good.

Friday: Camera, lights and sound kit arrive. One look at the amount of space they're taking to store in my place, I gulp and call sayyid Muhammad, the trusty van driver who'd put up with my guerrilla filmmaking antics back in March.

21:30: Meeting with sayyid 'Aziz in Hammersmtih. The cafe is closed. We find an establishment close to Olympia. Sayyid 'Aziz reads the lines for my benefit. I wish If I had the sound kit with me to record his delivery there and then; it's exactly at the right pitch and level of intensity.

Saturday: Meeting with Rhona Danil close to the Lyric theatre. She reads the Arabic text I'd sent her. Superb.

16:00, I receive a call from Kate Higgs, our first camera assistant. "Do we have a tripod in the kit we've received?". "Yes," I say, before asking her to hold on so I can check. I had asked for a tripod; "it must be somewhere... No, this is the wrong shape...." I call the rental facility; they're closed for the bank holiday weekend. Fortunately, I still have the phone number of Shane, the filmmaker who works for the facility. He directs me to the right contact.

17:30: Walking down Berwick Street armed with a Manfrotto tripod.

19:00 Home.

19:15: Coffee with Daniel Nussbaumer, our production designer. Daniel has brought me prints of the photograph that he's created in photo shop for the scene when Yusif visits his childhood friend, Tariq, at a council estate south of river. He has also brought me the leaflets, books and coffee-pot and cups that feature in the scene. I need a close-up of the photo, with these items in the background for continuity.

20:30: At laundrette. Need to feel fresh for the shoot:-) I call a film critic friend to update him on the progress of the film.

21:30: decide to get some sleep before launching myself into a mini-script-writing session for tomorrow's shoot: I still need to finalize the Arabic news script, as well as printing the different parts of the script that will be read to camera or in the ADR session.

Sunday:Pickups shoot and ADR

3:30AM: I finally succumb to the night-before-the-shoot insomnia.
04:00 working on the Arabic script. Arabic news broadcasts are usually delivered in the Fus'ha form of the language, written Modern Standard Arabic. Grammar, as well as elegance in the use of language, are paramount, if Arabic-speaking viewers of the film are to believe and accept the news footage to be professional and of a standard normally seen in the better known Arabic satellite TV stations.
Thank god for my "A" Level in Arabic language and literature:-)

07:00: I am still printing character sides: a great deal of cutting and pasting and re-formatting of text is required.

08:00 Sayyid Muhammad arrives. He begins to load the van, suppressing his evident wish to ask, "why do you need to have the kit stored in your place, when it is the size of a matchbox?"

08:30 Finally en route to the sound recording studio in Hammersmith. I record an audio greeting informing cast and crew that Zain al-Janabi is this weekend's production coordinator. I then switch off phone.

09:00 Zain and I take the kit upstairs to the studio. We are welcomed by Graham, the sound engineer.

09:20: En route back to my place; have forgotten the bit which goes into the other bit, which are needed in order for this thing to start making the right noises.. and for the crew not to throw me out of the studio window:-)

Zain keeps a close eye on the schedule; he calls actors 30 minutes or so before their slot to make sure they know the way and whether they will be able to make it on time. He also keeps everyone fully supplied with refreshments.

10:00 We are running late:-) 
Rhona Danil and our makeup artist for the day, Agatha Woloszczak, are already here. Rhona has kindly brought a wardrobe for the four story days. Amanda Sterkenburg also joins us to play the role of Karis, the news presenter.

We start filming around 11.
Rhona is not sure about my "brilliant", "perfect", "beautiful" notes back to actors, especially when they are followed by, "Let's try it again!". For me, the performances were simply sublime, but I did need to capture a few takes for safety... and posterity:-)
12:30: As per call-sheet, Sayyid 'Aziz arrives. Realizing how late we're running, he quips: "When the call-sheet was so precise as to give an exact time of 12:30, I thought to myself, "god, Ja'far is so organized; he's whittled arrival times down to exact minutes":-)

13:00 Zain whisper in my ear, "I think lunch is overdue!". I agree; the biscuits and sweets are not cutting it any more...

Julian Boote, in the role of Robert North, and Rami Hilmi, in the role of Dr Mazin, get ready for the TV interview we're filming.
-"aah, this is a nice laid-back TV piece... no more than a page in the script.
"Hang on; where did all these wild hand gestures and confrontational body language come from? Where's the script; I didn't by any chance change the scene in my insomniac state last night?"

We all are so taken aback by how much passion and energy the two actors put into the improvised scene, that a round of applause erupts across the studio...

-"That was brilliant; you guys really surprised me! Excellent... Can we try it once more... this time the way it is in the script!"
I can't hold a straight face long enough:-) Belly laughs all around:-)

-We have lunch. Zain has brought us kebab sandwiches from the Iranian restaurant across the street.

- Alessio and Kate head to Westminster to shoot some time-lapse footage. Axle heads home.

15:45: Sit Badria Timimi arrives. I'd met her after a play reading session at the Royal Court Theatre back in November. Houda has kindly put us in touch.
She records the voice of Yusif's mother; it is a joy to watch sit Badria work.

16:00: In sound booth with sit Ahlam Arab and sayyid Sami Yako, the actor sayyid Nayef Rashed had recommended.
Sayyid Sami is to ADR the role of Dawood- the Iraqi Jewish character played by a gentleman friend who'd stepped in simply to allow us to film the scene back in November; the actor who'd originally agreed to play the role changed his mind in the middle of the shoot.

Sayyid Sami reads the lines for the benefit of the sound engineer, Graham. I begin to sway in my seat... Sayyid Sami doesn't so much read the lines, he serenades them to the microphone... sings them. His voice, delivery and grace of performance almost bring tears to my eyes- the character of Dawood is finally alive for me...
Sayyid Sami also reads a few mobile phone and airport message announcements.

Sit Ahlam also re-records a few lines for me. She stays behind as I spend the last half-hour of the recording session with sayyid 'Aziz re-capturing parts of the dialogue of the character of Hussayn. Both sayyid Hussayn and I agree that the reading sessions we've held over the past week have been invaluable; he delivers his best performance in the film.

18:30: I practically have to force Zain to head home; he needs some well deserved rest.

Sayyid Muhammad collects the kit with me.
I am home by 8PM.

One look at the shoot's debris of filming kit boxes covering the floor of my humble abode and I head to the movies.

In aid of my future rom-com script, you understand..."Ghosts of Girlfriends past" (Dir. Mark Waters, 2009) :-)

Tomorrow, we are back in Notting Hill, outside Mesocafe to film a scene with sayyid Kawa, sayyid Adam and sayyid Zain.
Will tell you all about it next week.

Peace and love,
Ja'far

April 26th; week 20 of post-production

"Very London":
Wednesday morning: Enjoying the sublime spring weather, I was woken from a daydream walking home from the office by a police officer on a motorcycle coming to an abrupt stop at the traffic light on Hyde Park Corner.
- "Could you not cross, please. One minute, please; they're coming!"
If it weren't for the pleasant and genuinely polite manner of the man, I would have thought they'd finally gotten to me:-)
A few seconds later, two more policemen on motorbikes whizzed by, a plain nondescript car... "wait, is that a Jaguar I see approaching?!". Yep, it was the prime minister Gordon Brown sat in the backseat fully immersed in what I assume were budget documents that were to be released later in the day.
-"Thank you", said the uniformed police officer in the front seat of the 4x4 at the end of the small motorcade. It took a couple of seconds to compute his gratitude- I was too busy staring at the no-nonsense-mean looking machine gun he was holding Al-Pacino in Scarface style.
-"How very courteous", I said to the young lady who happened to also be waiting for the motorcade to pass.
-"Very London", she said in her Spanish accent...

I haven't had much time to work on the film this past week, being at the office. I have, however, been viewing the assembly of the footage that Schuman completed last week. As I related to him and to Nasri, the film's overlapping narratives, the central role the inner voices of Yusif and Bisan play- all of this would hopefully start imbuing the film with that quality which I have always felt is at the heart of the story.

Hopefully, we will be able to work on the edit this coming week; we need to add the footage we captured in the pickups shoot at the end of February, and also the voiceover that was so beautifully captured at a studio recording session last year.

Looking forward to next weekend, I am liaising with Mesocafe family members for the HD shoot that will take place at the end of the week. We need to create our own television content to appear on TV sets at the cafe, the hotel and the office. I am also working on filming a scene between the characters of Tawfiq, Peter and Masud at the cafe; a scene that couldn't be captured due to time constraints. In the reading sessions I held with cast members back in November, the scene was truly charming.

The one slight reservation I have about shooting the scene is the fact that we'll be doing so on my 16mm camera, as opposed to super 16mm- a fact which will have repercussions on shot size and framing.

Alessio will have to apply even more magic.

For this week's shoot, I am still searching for a couple of actors:

- Male, Iraqi/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean looking actor to play the role of a 40 something politician being interviewed. Filming date: May 3rd.

- Female, Iraqi/Arab, excellent command of standard modern Arabic/ Fus'ha, mid-20s to mid-30s, to play role of a news anchor reading to camera in Arabic.

Until next week,
Ja'far

April 19th; week 19 of post-production

Been reading with great interest and admiration the excellent reviews for "Shifty" (Dir. Eran Creevy, 2008), the film produced by Film London's Microwave scheme and shot in 18 days for £100,000. You see, back in the summer of 2007, I had the pleasure of meeting the artistic director of the Microwave scheme and despite her encouragement to proceed with the admittedly long-winded application process, I made the choice of investing my time in developing the script further, rather than spend weeks and months progressing through the different stages of the selection journey. One also didn't wish to add yet another element of uncertainty to the project: will the film receive funding?

Having shot the film via the self-funding route, I think I made the right decision. Hopefully, the collective talent and passion of the Mesocafe family will shine through the finished movie and will help all involved to make many many more fully-budgeted projects.

On the film front, I am pleased to announce we have a full general assembly of the footage. Schuman has added the magic that only a filmmaker and editor of his experience can bring to a project.

I need to go through the rushes once more to see if there are takes or parts of takes that we could use to help shed more light on performance. All in all, I am a happy bunny.

The final leg of production is approaching fast: we need to create the TV news footage that plays out on TV sets at the cafe, hotel room and kitchen in the film. Having checked the release fees from news networks, I think one would be able to make a whole new feature film with the total sum needed to pay for the required footage.

In the next few days I will decide as to the dates for this final leg of production.

Once this footage is captured, Schuman and Daniel will be able to workout the best workflow for inserting the news items into the edited film. Picture lock will soon follow. Music and sound track issues can then be addressed.

Films I've watched this week:
"French Beauty" (Dir. Pascale Lamche, 2005): a feature documentary which opens with the line: "Our story begins with cinema, when God Created Woman and decided she would be French!"  Brilliant; I find myself falling in love yet again with the projected image of France, the stereotype, the dream. 

"The Philadelphia Story" (Dir. George Cukor, 1940): Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. Need I say more:-)

Until next week.
Ja'far
 

April 12th; week 18 of post-production

-"Long stride to the right with your left foot, plunge (gently), right foot to follow, extend left leg forward and then right...Long stride to the right with your left foot, plunge (gently)...."
- OK, if I am to be invited again to these events, I need to stop stepping on feet now!

My experience of attending celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Iraqi Communist Party...more later...

Have just returned from a second full day's editing with Schuman this week. The first was on Thursday straight after ploughing through ten solid nights at the office.
On the way to Schuman, I collected the TK'd rushes for the pickups shoot. Was far too impatient to see the footage to wait for the duration of the journey from Soho to Liverpool Street, so the young lady at the TK facility kindly allowed me to have a quick peek.
As expected, Alessio has done his usual magic. My main concern was the B Roll filmed by yours truly en route to returning the kit. OK, i think there is no danger of my being asked to operate a camera on a feature in the near future; however, i am relieved and pleased to report the random shots of buildings, traffic and shop signs seem fine. Phew.

The edit is going well... As Schuman has said in the past, there isn't a great deal of footage to trawl through, and therefore we simply take what's already in the can.

Looking at the rushes, and how well we've been doing in the edit, I estimate that we'll have a general rough cut by the end of May.

Based on this, I am preparing myself for the final leg of the production: the HD footage we need to capture for screening on TV sets in the diegesis. These consist of a couple of interviews conducted by Robert North, the journalist who will not take a "no" for answer, and Richard Field, the right-wing politician. There is also news footage that we need to source at a reasonable copyright fee. Once these steps are completed, we then hand the rough cut to Daniel in order for him to key into the individual scenes this HD footage.

We will have a day of editing next week.

Back to the 75th anniversary celebrations and the agony I inflicted upon my dance partners, and that's just the sight of my dancing:-)
It was truly a magical evening with sit Sajidah Amory, her husband, sayyid Abu Samir, their son, Adam, and my graceful dance tutor Sara Amory. Also present were sit Ahlam 'Arab, sayyid Mazin 'Imad and sayyid Husham.

Quote of the week: "If she goes to her cousin first and then to another lady, she will be my wife." (Prince Andrew Bolkonski talking of Natasha in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace)

Until next week,
Ja'far

April 5th; week 17 of post-production

Had two days of editing with Schuman; ecstatic.
We have created a rough cut of the two major cafe scenes- the scenes that took the greater part of our six nights and half a day of filming at the cafe in Notting Hill. Next up- deep breath- is the big dinner party scene. The rushes look rich and sumptuous in colour and composition; hopefully, we'll be able to cut a scene that reflects the high production values, intensity of performance from the cast, and the heartwarming camaraderie of the crew.

With a bit of luck, we'll have two more days of editing this week.

Films I've watched this week:
"The Secret of My Success" (Dir. Herbert Ross, 1987): In aid of developing my forthcoming romantic comedy, you understand:-)
I remember watching Brantley's (Michael J Fox) meteoric rise from the mail room to the executive washroom at the cinema when the film came out. Think it was at the Canon in Bayswater- now a TGI Friday...
Watching the feature again after more than two decades, one finds yet another justification for the years that researchers spend studying films from all over the world- like literature, film provides a mirror, a reflection, a commentary on how societies and cultures view(ed) themselves. It also helps inform our view of ourselves by the position we take towards the content and form.

"Laura" (Dir. Otto Preminger, 1944): I think this tour de force in the creative use of a narrating-character in film will prompt me to pester my local video store for more of these "old films" by Mr Preminger. With the store assistant having gotten mildly irritated the last time I visited on account of my asking for what she must have deemed ancient artifacts-  "Accidental Hero" and "It Could Happen to You" from the 1990s, think I will make the query from the relative safety of the shop door.

Talking of the 1940s, and films revolving around that mythic creature...Femme Fatale, allow me to leave you with Rita Hayworth in "Gilda" (Dir. Charles Vidor, 1946) and "Put the Blame on Mame, Boys... Put the Blame...*

*Not suitable for the easily enamoured:-)

Until next week,
Ja'far

March 29th; week 16 of post-production

I have just returned from a long day of editing; feel rejuvenated by the experience of sitting in on the edit with Schuman Hoque watching him do that which is the essence of cinema: juxtapose one image next to another  and create a third image/a meaning in the process.

Schuman reckons we will be able to get through the greater part of the rough cut in the next few weeks. This is great news indeed.

Although I have been frustrated somewhat by the absence of progress on post-production for the past two months, I think the delay has served to acquaint me further with the rushes and has indeed helped me find remedies to those sequences that appeared to be destined for the cutting room floor.

I have yet to develop the just under 3000 feet of exposed film we shot during the pickups a few weeks back. Hopefully, we will have them developed over the next two weeks. I will keep my "B Roll" separate from Alessio's footage- i can always blame the lab for the loss of my oh, so beautiful imagery:-)

Earlier in the week, attended the opening of "Boats and Burdens: Kites and Shattered Dreams", an art exhibition by Maysaloun Faraj at Aya Gallery in Fulham. I first met sit Maysaloun almost eight years ago when I was assisting a features writer from a well-known US periodical meet Iraqi artists in London. On meeting sit Maysaloun, the journalist wrote back in awe: "what a dynamo!".

At the exhibition, I hooked up with Daniel who'd arrived on time more than 30 minutes earlier. Being a work night, I couldn't really stay later than 9, though before leaving I did manage to steer the conversation in the direction of a young lady whom I thought looked familiar. It later transpired that I'd seen her in a well-made short film. She, Daniel et moi briefly exchanged stories about the film industry...

I have two more days of editing with Schuman this week; really pleased with the progress.

Films I've watched this week:
"Untamed Heart" (Dir. Tony Bill, 1993) following on in my Marisa Tomei phase, I couldn't resist. Watched it on Wednesday morning after coming home from work and could not stop until the teary ending.

"Duplicity" (Dir. Tony Gilroy, 2009):  still not sure if I liked the story, but loved the pacy dialogue.

"Two Lovers" (Dir. James Gray, 2008): Ever since watching "We Own the Night" (Dir. James Gray, 2007), I've been waiting to see the next collaboration between Gray and Joaquin Phoenix. Watching Joaquin's beguiling rendition of the jilted lover's journey to a less broken and healing heart made me doubly disappointed with the news that he's abandoning the screen and launching into a career as a hip-hop artist.

Until next week,
Ja'far

March 22nd; week 15 of post-production

I am well into my ten nights at the office; I feel surprisingly fresh and energized.

Haven't much to report on the film; I will be spending two full days editing at the end of next week.

Members of the Mesocafe family have been writing in with their latest:

While planning is afoot for distribution and screening of her latest feature, "31 North 62 East", Houda Echouafni ("Suad") has been involved in screenplay readings at the Soho Theatre.

Julian Boote ("Robert North") is busy with a couple of projects, one of which will have him play the father of one of the heroes- I imagine copious quantities of makeup would be applied to age our young reporter:-)

Seamus Newham ("Sir James") is taking a short break before beginning rehearsals on a play in May.

Kate Higgs (1st camera assistant) is busy shooting a documentary.

Axle Cheeng (sound recordist) has just run a half-marathon.

Caroline Jay ("Sheila Adams") is busy with TV and film work.

Monica Kendall ("Newscaster/Anchor") is also engaged in the London media scene.

Jade Page (costume designer) is working on a range of projects.

Khalid Laith ("Hisham") is in Beirut with David Greig's "Damascus".

Valentina Lucci (costume supervisor) is in Italy working  on a documentary.

Steven Sparling ("Jack Smith") has recently completed shooting a couple of shorts.

Zain al-Jananbi ("Masud") is working on his degree in film and TV production.

Stephanie Ellyne ("Amy Peterson") is in final rehearsals for a musical in London.

Gabi Dworecki (continuity assistant) is overseeing the completion of a documentary she shot in Spain as well as being involved in other projects.

Paul Hills (executive producer) is polishing off the final post-production elements of "Do Elephants Pray?"

Sayyid Kawa Khudur Rasul ("Tawfiq") is in the north of Iraq, spending time with the family.

Will update as soon as I hear from the rest of the Mesocafe family.

Until next week,
Ja'far

March 15th; week 14 of post-production

I am heading into a a ten-night stint on the night shift. Working nights, the days begin to blend into one another, you genuinely need to check the date to know whether it's the third or fifth night on shift. What makes the job appealing is the type of people that gravitate towards such shift pattern: there are novelists, journalists, musicians, bloggers and one or two celluloid dreamers.
When I was an undergraduate student back in the early 1990s, I used to concur with fellow-I-know-it-all early 20s peers that a 9 to 5 job is for losers, that settling to the mundane routine of fighting for a space on the early morning commuter train is a soul destroying prospect.
Many moons later, and in my ninth year on the night shift, I am not sure if working 9 to 5 gets the press it deserves.

All of this introspection is in aid of my next feature film, which is a romantic comedy partly set in an office environment. I jotted the first few lines of the treatment in the run-up to the shoot in November last year. Over the past couple of weeks, in view of the lack of progress on the edit, I've been keeping myself busy writing very general and short treatments for the new project.

Being a budding screenplay-writer, I don't really have a fully fledged writing technique or, indeed, a pre-set map that I trace. I tend to start with a few thoughts and questions. More often than not, these questions become the basis for the character journey and - ok, i'll use the term!- the dramatic arc.

This stage of the writing is probably the most enjoyable; the characters are yet to acquire a unique voice of their own and one can move freely through the topography of an overlapping plain of ideas and suggestions. When the characters begin to come into their own, it becomes more challenging to apply change and attempt rewrites- they don't like it! You find yourself wondering whether HE is blanking you on account of the longer speech you gave SHE, or whether the silent treatment you're getting from SHE is because of the blond with endless legs that you placed at a table nearby at the moment when HE is to propose to SHE. Honestly, you can't please everyone:-)

Films I've watched this week:
Attempting to do my bit for keeping in business the one remaining videostore in my  neighbourhood, I decided to rent a couple of videos that  are available to purchase on the net for as little as a fiver. The genre of the majority of these films, you understand, is purely for research purposes for my next project:-)

The first on the list was "Accidental Hero" (Dir. Stephen Frears, 1992). It wasn't available. The girl behind the counter, who may have been born after the film was made, called it a "very old movie" that they would no longer stock.

Not being one to give up so easily, I tried my next film on the list, "It Could Happen to You" (Dir. Andrew Bergman, 1994)- "don't you want any of the new releases? The computer says, we had this film on VHS a long time ago!"

"Only you" (Norman Jewison, 1994), "with my favourite actress from contemporary Hollywood, Marisa Tomei," I add. Silence and a slight-ever-so tangible irritation with this "old guy who is after old films"!

On my way out, I came across the cover for a movie that I didn't know Marisa Tomei was in. "Happy Accidents" (Dir. Brad Anderson, 2000)

Despite the slight nature of the story, I still loved it; as far as this romantic is concerned, Marisa can do no wrong. Dramatic arcs- who needs 'em:-)

Allow me to leave you with one of my favourite songs to go with a rom-com... Billy Williams and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter".

March 8th; week 13 of post-production

Being in the last year of my fourth decade on this earth, I have little claim to wisdom. I do, however, know that the world is like "London Eye"- today you're up and tomorrow... down. What matters is you can look yourself in the mirror without a trace of doubt in your own integrity and self-respect. What I've learnt thus far from nurturing Mesocafe through its writing, casting, pre-production, shoot and whatever has been achieved in post-production is that making a film is a great way to meet some wonderful, kind and passionate compatriots in the land of celluloid dreams. No matter how many altercations, misunderstandings and heated exchanges one has with "fellow citizens", mutual love and respect must and will remain. For me, there is no alternative.

Off with these thoughts- navel-gazing is the preserve of screenplays set in middle class Parisian arrondissements:-)

The exposed film from the pickup shoot is firmly in the can. Think it will have to stay there for the next month or so- until lady budget allows us to develop and TK.

Monday:
11:30 AM: sayyid Muhammed came to collect the few items of the kit that are still at my place. We headed to the events centre close to Notting Hill where the remainder of the gear was left after the end of the pickups shoot last night. While he was busy moving the the lighting and camera boxes, I loaded the camera with the day-light balanced 400ft can of film that had been sitting in my fridge since the summer of 2007.

Sayyid Muhammed comes up for the last box.

Sayyid Muhammed: Yallah, we are ready.
Moi: I have an idea!
'Sayyid Muhammed: touching forehead thoughtfully, undoubtedly concerned that this idea may have a knock-on effect on his schedule.
Moi: can we please make a detour.
'Sayyid Muhammed: silence

12:30: we drive by al-Saqi bookshop. Alessio had filmed the famous London-Arabic bookshop twice- during the shoot in November-December 2008 and also two days ago. On both occasions we captured the exterior at night. I need a shot of it in daylight to help connect the character of Yusif to the location. Obviously, Alessio would have captured the shot for me, had I asked him and had we had sufficient time.
I manage to get a really nice shot of the bookshop sign as we drive-by.

'Sayyid Muhammed is still not convinced that the camera kit is worth £105,000. "This much for a second-hand camera! How much would a brand new one cost?"

13:00: Parked outside al-Wadi al-Akhdar/Green Valley supermarket off the Edgware Road.
Sayyid Muhammed asks whether it would be possible for him to be in the film. I film him getting into the Green Valley and as always happens with what start out to be perfect shots, someone totally unrelated to the scene steps into frame and simply stares at the camera. Who knows, our editor Schuman may be able to get Sayyid Muhammed his wish and keep him in the film.

13:30: Walking from shop to shop, saying hello and asking for permission to film the sign outside. Without fail, every shop and restaurant owner I ask agrees. I am capturing these static shots to help with the montage introducing the Arab quarter of London. I am sure Alessio would have achieved a far more aesthetically appealing result; alas, it couldn't be done over the weekend. The camera is here, and so is the film roll.

14:30: Sayyid Muhammed et moi are eating shawerma, washed down with freshly made lemonade.

15:00 Driving through Park Lane. I film through the windshield. This shot will work quite well with the footage Alessio captured on Saturday night, as it is the same route but now filmed in daylight.

15:15: We're parked off Berkley Square. Those who have read the script will know what I am talking about. Yet another exterior shot we didn't have the time to film during the shoot proper.

15:30: Through the window of the van I notice a couple of buildings that can stand-in for the American embassy and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, respectively. Due to obvious security concerns- and safety of crew-, Alessio and I had instantly dropped any plans for filming the actual American Embassy back in December, despite our agreement that an exterior shot of the building would work well with the scene set at the embassy. We similarly agreed filming the actual British and Commonwealth Office would not be prudent. Who knows, with more pre-production time, we may have been given permission. But sans-permit, we thought it best not to tempt the powers that be.

With the pressures of the last couple of days of the shoot in December, we didn't get round to filming a building- any building- that could stand in for the US embassy or the FCO.
Therefore, I am chuffed that we filmed these two substitute buildings.

15:45: Looking through the viewfinder as we take the final turn out of Berkley Square.
Moi: Sayyid Muhammed could you please turn right here.
'Sayyid Muhammed: here?
Moi: noticing we've missed the turn, "please take the next right".

We find ourselves in an alley-like side street. We can't turn right or go back. So we take a left.

I am pleased with this turn; looking through the viewfinder, I am happy with the architecture I am capturing on film.

'Sayyid Muhammed: slightly agitated, "are you sure you want me to go straight here?"
Moi: busy with the camera, [now what did they teach us at the Lux Centre in 1999- the frame rate is set by which button?]- "yes, please, Sayyid Muhammed; great views I am getting here."

Looking through the viewfinder, I realize that we've entered a square. A square that seems to have one too many concrete barriers.
The realization dawns on me that we're in Grosvenor Square and that the American Embassy is getting into view.
After we pass the embassy, I look up. Sayyid Muhammed looks like he'd seen a ghost. He's afraid that we'd be stopped for filming in such a high security part of town. I calm him down, assuring him that the police will understand.
I think he decides to forgive me my naivete:-)

16:00: Hyde Park Corner: Alessio had filmed the war memorial from aboard the moving car amid the rush-hour traffic, but we needed a simple wide shot of the memorial. Done.

17:00 Arrive at the rental facility. While a very helpful youngman checks the kit in, I head to one of their darkrooms and empty the film magazine.

Shook hands with Sayyid Muhammed and headed back home.

Having related the whole story of the B-roll, the rushes better be good!

A very short nap before heading to the West End to drop-by on Daniel's birthday drinks. Paul Hills and Arij were there too. I said hello, stayed for about ten minutes, and then was en route to work. The night shift begins.

Haven't been able to do much during these past seven days/nights, other than work at the office.

Schuman emailed me to update me on the progress of the edit. Being a freelance editor I totally appreciate that he does have other projects and commitments. He informs me that these past few weeks have been the busiest for him in many years. "I always said Mesocafe is a blessed project," I write back:-)

Hopefully, we'll be able to carve out a few weeks to edit the film before the end of June.

Until next week.
Ja'far

March 1st; week 12 of post-production

March 1st; week 12 of post-production

Is the adrenelin-charged-floating-on-celluloid feeling a sort of a drug? is there a way of bagging and selling it? There is money to be made, let me tell ya!

Didn't stay up for the Oscars- the first chance I get to watch the ceremony live for many years, and I zzzz. Bad show.

Monday: Received confirmation from Aziz al-Na'ib, Houda Echouafni, Julian Boote and Sarah Amory for their participation in the pickups shoot this weekend. Daniel has sent through a breakdown of the props needed for the shoot.

Tuesday: Booked lighting kit. Arij has arranged for a van and driver to provide the logistics for the mini-shoot. Booked a people carrier similar to the vehicle used during the shoot.
Arij has booked a conference room at the same venue we filmed the Dr Ziyad office scenes. The location is central, in fact close to "Mesocafe", and will provide us with the creature comforts needed for a 12 hour shoot.

Wednesday: Musli wolfed down with a cup of - revolting- instant coffee [Sometimes one feels like Jean Reno in Godzilla (dir.Roland Emmerich, 1998) forever seeking that perfect cup of coffee], before heading to Russell Square to collect my dinner date of the shoot; you know, the painting- "al-Maqha" by Faisal Laibi Sahi. Sayyid Faisal has kindly agreed to lend me his work yet again, having heard of my failure to capture the characters in "al-Maqha". I related to him how we couldn't find a practical way to suspend the relatively heavy frame from the walls of "Mesocafe", and that we kept thinking we will get round to filming it, but never did- the last day of the shoot was over and the painting never received its promised close-up. I remember sit Ahlam asking me on several occasions, " have you filmed the painting? Needs to be done and the work returned to the artist without delay."

Received text from Axle regarding the type of sound kit she will need for the pickups.
Back home. Phonecalls and emails- need to cover all the angles for the shoot.

Evening: Pizza and DVDs at Alessio's place a few stops beyond Mile End. We needed to check the rushes for continuity issues and whether my suggested pickup shots will cut well.
Alessio is getting ready for a shoot on the road- a documentary following a driver going across borders.
 
Thursday:
7.30AM breakfast with the painting:-)
Need to arrange for the sound kit.

Daphne has kindly agreed to do the pickups this weekend. Thank you.

For the backgammon table used at the cafe, I called Husham, a friend of Sit Ahlam's who'd been wonderful with his time during the shoot, patiently helping continuity by taking his seat at Mesocafe and playing backgammon for the entire six-day shoot at the cafe.

Sound kit booked.
Emailed Neil at our insurance brokers to have a policy in place for tomorrow morning when we're to collect the kit.

Having learnt many moons ago that travelling to and fro across town to collect the kit from the different rental houses would take the best part of a day, I opted to pay a delivery fee for the sound kit. This will mean a single other collection point; both the lighting and camera kits are at the same business park in North London.

Before heading out to meet Mazin 'Imad, the Oud player, I sent the skeleton cast and crew a general schedule for Saturday.
Mazin has just returned from a month-long visit to Baghdad. I am full of admiration for the bravery of many in my circle of friends who have visited Iraq post-the 2003 war. I certainly wouldn't consider it at this stage. Mazin recounted the improved security situation, the slow and cautious return of a semblance of normality to civic life, catching up with friends, and simply enjoying being back in his country and city of birth.

Friday:
A busy day.
The caretaker in our house has kindly agreed to receive the sound kit from the courier.

Noon: heading with Sayyid Muhammad, the gentleman driving a removals van, to the camera and lighting rental house in North London.
On arriving to the location, Sayyid Muahammad expressed surprised at the huge size of the rental house, the enormous film lights piled high on shelves climbing to the ceiling of the cavernous shed. He kept asking me to repeat the value of the camera kit: "£105,000 you say? why, the camera looks old and second hand!".

5 PM: back at my place. Sayyid Muhammad kindly brought the kit into the ground floor landing.
It took me 15 journeys up the steep flight of stairs to my first floor place, and then up the steps into my room, to bring the whole kit in. Realizing that I wouldn't have adequate space for the equipment, I folded my bed to allow for more storage space around the room. Think I'll be sleeping on the floor tonight. Wonder whether I still have that sleeping bag?

7.15 PM: hopping into the tube from South Kensington station.
7.45 PM: hurrying along Kilburn High Street.
7:55 PM: apologizing to a whole row of people for making them stand up while I maneuver myself to one of the few available seats at the Tricycle Theatre. Houda Echouafni had alerted me to David Greig's "Damascus", which features Khalid Laith, the magnetic actor who plays Hisham in Mesocafe.
I felt privileged to be among the audience this evening. The play touched me  and left me elated with a serenity that words fail to describe. Khalid was superb. Kudos to you, good friend.

11 PM: walking from Kilburn to Marble Arch.

11:45 PM: at al-Wadi al-Akhdar/ The Green Valley Lebanese bakery and supermarket close to Marble Arch. I seek the permission of the manager, sayyid Ali, for filming on the property. I am granted permission. Shukran.

1 AM: can't sleep. Haven't tried this sleeping bag since the last time I had to store the whole film kit in my room- in March last year when I had that mini-shoot capturing an anti-war demo in Trafalgar Square.

Saturday:
6 AM: after less than two hours of sleep, I am wide awake. I usually have these sleepless nights before the first day of a shoot. You keep going through all the things that you should have done, worried that the cast and crew would not be able to perform to the optimum of their combined talent and expertise due to your failure to prepare adequately.

7 AM: Sayyid Muhammad and I are loading the van.

8 AM: Outside the Natural History Museum at Queens Gate, London W8. Tina, Daphne and Houda are already at the location. They walk towards us. Julian, Alessio, sayyid 'Aziz al-Na'ib and Alice arrive. Daniel parks the people carrier we hired for the shoot. Axle texts me saying she's running a bit late, thanks to a train delay. She arrives shortly.
Arij brings us coffee and croissants.
Tina sets up shop in the people carrier and works on makeup.

8:30 AM: a police car stops by. A very affable Police Constable asks me some questions on the production, has a quick peek into one of the camera boxes, and hands me a yellow note stating that we'd already been stopped by the police. "It's only routine; you're near an iconic building and we need to check for any potential security risk." I wish if all PCs were this sweet and friendly. Bless him.

Alice asks me for the amount of film stock we have. "five 400ft cans and some short-ends from the shoot," I say, confident that we have plenty of stock.
9 AM: we start rolling. The pick up shot is a reverse of the character of Suad, played by Houda,  aboard the car with Yusif, Hussayn and Ziyad, as she notices Bisan taking part in an anti-war rally. We had an interior shot from behind the passenger seat of her turning her head to the protest outside. We needed to see her reaction.

Alessio suggests that we also get a shot of the car entering frame. Fortunately for us, we don't have any exterior footage of the car. I say fortunately due to the people carrier we have today being in a bright silver colour as opposed to the black of the car during the shoot. 10 AM: A close-up of Daphne, in the role of Bisan, as she takes part in the protest. Great work all around.11 AM: Julian, Axle, Alice, Alessio et moi are walking towards the Kensington Gardens end of Queens Gate. We need to have a couple of close-ups of Julian as his character, Robert North, comes across Yusif and Bisan driving away.
Once the shots are out of the way, we film a couple of tight shots of the car doors closing and opening. 12 PM: Aboard the people carrier. Daniel driving, moi giving directions and Alessio, Alice and Axle enjoying the exchange- you see, i don't do Swiss precision in my directions:-)
We need a POV of Yusif aboard a car crossing Vauxhall Bridge. We think we're heading to said bridge when we get a call from sayyid 'Aziz who is following us in Arij's car. "Vauxhall bridge is in the opposite direction."
We turn around.
En route to Vauxhall bridge we come across the gas works in Battersea. They look too weathered and cinematic to miss.

13:00: We cross Wandsworth Bridge.

14:00: We finally arrive at Vauxhall bridge. We cross it in one direction and then in another. Alessio patiently films the scenery we need.

14:20: a pit stop at a petrol station. Sayyid Aziz and Arij have lost us. We're on the phone and they finally find us.

14:45: Hyde Park Corner: I ask Alessio to film one of the war memorials at edge of the round-about.

15:00: Edgware Road. We can't find parking for the people carrier. Alessio, Daniel, Axle and Alice take the essential sound and camera kit with them. I take the car and park it in an underground parking complex.
15:15: Sara Amory, a member of the Mesocafe family who was present throughout the shoot at the cafe, arrives accompanied by non other Mr Boom Boom Ryad. It's so nice to see them both.

15:45: Alessio films Sara, Ryad et moi sip tea at a table outside al-Sulaymani restaurant on Edgware Road. We have a couple of CUs of Sara smoking the shishah. I think women make better shishah smokers; they make it look far more elegant.

16:15: at al-Wadi al-Akhdar/ The Green Valley Lebanese bakery and supermarket. Alessio takes a couple of shots of the sumptuous sweet trays on offer.16:45: outside al-Wadi al-Akhdar; we film sayyid 'Aziz in the parked people carrier listening to music. I am particularly pleased with the shot as in one take we manage to capture the whole action of his character picking a CD from the top of the dashboard, inserts it into the player and begins to sway gently with the music. 17:30: it's the magic hour. it's not day or night.

17:35: at a Lebanese cafe ordering espresso and freshly squeezed juice for the crew.

18:00: tracking shots of shop signs from aboard the car.

19:00: PoV shot of Belgrave Square from the passenger seat.
19:30: I call it a wrap. 19:45: in Kensington Gardens Square off Westbourne Grove. Alice is packing the camera, while Daniel and Arij discuss logistics.
Alice: "We only have a full can, about 300ft in the magazine and the short-ends."
Moi: panicking; do we have enough for tomorrow's close-ups?

20:15: outside my door; Daniel and I bring the kit back into the house. Daniel heads home, while I start the odyssey of taking the kit up to my room. Silly of me to decline Daniel's offer of help.

21:15: zzz- sleeping bag not an issue.

Sunday:
6 AM: looking through rushes, marking up DVDs with rushes relevant to the pickups. I am aided by the continuity folder that Amelie created for the project. I whisper a merci everytime I find the take, slate and scene i need in the rushes thanks to her folder.

9 AM: sayyid Muhammad et moi are loading the van.

10 AM: we arrive at the events centre close to Notting Hill. Tina, Alessio, Alice, Arij and Daniel are already here. Axle won't be with us today. There is no dialogue to record.
11 AM: we start shooting the pick ups. These basically consist of insert shots of props from the cafe, Robert North's office and one or two shots for the hotel and kitchen scenes. There is also an insert shot of a telephone used for conference calls which our editor Schuman specifically asked for.
As ever, Daniel has shone through with his brilliant organisation- as with the shoot, whenever a prop was needed, it was there and ready.
Tina is here to do her magic and create a scar on the hand of the character of Hussayn, played by sayyid 'Aziz.
Julian Boote is also here for the close-up of his hands shuffling photos and documents.
Armed with a backgammon table, Husham arrives. Alessio films Husham's hands and mine as we play backgammon; correction, Husham playing and me just moving pieces randomly.

13:00: at a burger joint in Westbourne Grove. Sit Ahlam Arab joins us.
Alice: "We only have the short-ends; we've run out of the two full magazines!".
Moi: gulp!

14:00: back at the events centre. Alessio films the poster for the book by the character of Bisan. We hadn't had the opportunity to film it at the cafe.

Alice: "only three short-ends left!"

15:00: more close-ups of documents, books, computer and TV screens, Turkish coffee cups, thin tea glasses etc.

Alice: "two left!"

19:00: I call it a wrap.

Alice: "there is a short-end of 35 feet left. That's all."

19:30: Alice and Alessio are packing the kit. Arij has managed to convince the friendly and cooperative manager of the centre to allow us to keep the equipment there overnight. I am pleased; no endurance-carry-what-feel-like-a-zillion-boxes-up-the-stairs-to-my-room-trials.

As Alessio, Alice and Arij leave, I suddenly remember the close-up of the telephone that Schuman had asked for. Damn, we didn't get the shot. My fault entirely.

I look to my left and to my right; the coast is clear- no camera department to tell me off.

I load the magazine with the remaining 35 feet in the black bag, and I am about to thread the film in the outside compartment when Arij comes back. She kindly stays behind, patiently watching me take for ever to thread the film.
We manage to film the phone; Arij's index finger has its close-up.

I am over the moon- I have all my shots.

Received a text from Axle: "You've got a whole movie now; just need to edit it. No pressure!" :-)
 

February 22nd; week 11 of post-production

Not a single frame has been cut/cropped/edited or assembled this week..frownie...

Hopefully, next week we'll get sometime- any time- in the edit suite.

This, however, hasn't totally sucked the wind out of our sails: based on the partial assembly of the master shots, and on my own log of the rushes, I have been busy this week creating a shot list for the pickups that are essential for the completion of the film. As stated in previous weeks, there are insert shots that we didn't have the opportunity to capture during the shoot; there are also a couple of no-dialogue scenes that were abandoned.

Thursday evening:  discussed with Arij, our production manager, the locations, catering, transport etc. for the pickups.
Friday evening: Arij and Daniel- we plan and plan some more...

Daniel has gone through the records of the art department for images of the props we used at the cafe- the tablecloth, tea glasses and plates of sweets, mobile phones, notebooks, leaflets and posters.  Both Arij and he are busy sourcing these items.

We're also planning to film those shop signs that we couldn't find the time for-  street life in Marble Arch, Edgware Road and Queensway.

I am really excited about this.

Tonight- for the first time in many years, I actually have the night off work on Oscars night- I just hope I'll stay up.

Until next week.

Ja'far

February 15th; week 10 of post-production

Not much to report on the film.
For the past week I have been waist-deep in admin duties at the office.

In order to deliver the logged sound files for the non-synched takes, I met our editor Schuman briefly at Liverpool Street station on Wednesday evening. He'd had a long day at the studio, whereas I was just getting ready for my long night at the office. 24-hour London.

I am editing the footage of the concert Kate and I filmed a couple of weeks ago.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Daniel Nussbaumer: Production Designer

I think when Paul Hills recommended Daniel, it didn't take me long to remember reading his name and seeing his photo in Paul's blog chronicling the making of "Do Elephants Pray?"
With only 16 weeks to go before the shoot, I was both glad and relieved to meet Daniel. In the pre-production blog, I entered the following on July 30th 2008:

"On the film front, I met a production designer on Sunday at the St Pancras terminal for Eurostar. He was on his way to Belgium and I was on my way back to bed, having had only a couple of hours of rest after finishing the night shift and needing at least a couple more before heading back to work. As ever, I found the meeting with someone working in the industry and who has read a part of the script quite instructive- it's always helpful to know how people feel about the characters and the story one has created on paper. It's almost like sharing a secret with a total stranger."

The distance separating this "stranger" to a "habibi" wasn't so much crossed as leapt and flown over at Concorde speed. One of the innumerable occasions during pre-production and the shoot in which I was left laughing like an infant thanks to Daniel's cutting sense of humour was when an attractive young lady working at a cafe in which we held production meetings offered me a drink on the house- on account of my being this budding-unknown filmmaker. Relating to Daniel and co my gratitude for the sweet gesture, Daniel said lightheartedly: "A free drink, but no number":-)

The weeks went by, and before we knew it, only a week was left before the shoot. And Crisis... The location for the cafe in which we were supposed to film cafe scenes fell through.

The cafe, which we found at such short notice thanks to Arij and Kawa, would require Daniel to invest his design and planning skills in its transformation from the French-unhurried-Notting-Hill-pace to something with the vavavoom that would work in harmony with the feisty character of Zaynab, the owner of "Mesocafe". The colour scheme Daniel designed for the set helped throw into relief those props -"nicknacks"- that made the place a touching reflection of Zaynab's accumulated memories and encounters with visitors from her place of birth.

He assembled a six-member strong multi-lingual art department, of whom I only met Hala Marji before the shoot; she had gotten in touch initially with me before joining Daniel's posse. All part of the colours of the rainbow that blessed Mesocafe.

Danke.

And finally, I can not allow myself to end this without quoting Daniel once more: "And always remember: 'You know when you've been habibi'd.'"

Films I've watched this week:
"He's Just Not That Into You!" (Dir. Ken Kwapis, USA/Germany 2009): being an absolute sucker for rom-coms I simply couldn't resist... only managed to find a seat at my local cinema on the third attempt. Great fun.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (Dir. Woody Allen, USA/Spain 2008)- sizzling performances all round. Woody Allen back to his great form.

Until next week.
Ja'far

February 8th; week 9 of post-production

I have seen the light- refracted through a 2.35:1 frame;-)

In the time-honoured editing technique of feature films, Schuman and I spent the first three days creating a "Jim Jarmusch" edit- i.e. assembled all the master-shots of the the scenes in the timeline. This would allow us to "see" what we have; find out if there is a viable movie, a story, character journeys that follow a plausible trajectory and arc in terms of performance beats etc. and - he said, chewing his nails- continuity!

The great news: we seem to have ticked all the above boxes. Schuman pointed out a couple of potential issues in editing together certain parts of the cafe scenes. I am certain, he will work his magic.

Remember the decision to divide the cafe into zones- counter where Zaynab holds court; Masud, Tawfiq, Peter and Hisham's table; Yusif's table; Bisan's table; the door and the exterior of the cafe- well, in addition to the strain this put on performance of the talent, it also created a huge demand on continuity in terms of movement, costume, make-up etc. etc- well, mise-en-scene. I remember Alex, our 2nd AD, jesting that we may end up with a character starting in one zone in the cafe wearing blue and walking into the next zone wearing red:-)  

Obviously, the cafe scenes were far too long for each to be shot chronologically, and the decision to divide the cafe into zones was ultimately mine.  I thank my stars that I was blessed with such a brilliant crew - and cast- who were able to make workable a very complicated schedule.

A big thank you to continuity, Amelie; costume, Valentina and Jade; and make up, Tina, with some help from Dominique, who - along with the rest of the crew- achieved the spectacular feat of making certain that the more than 12 characters who appear at the cafe had continuity in appearance and movement between tables, the counter and cafe exterior.

Throughout the shoot, it was difficult to find the time in the already crowded schedule for the cutaways that are the bread and butter of editors. In retrospect, I think the decision to focus on capturing scenes, as opposed to diverting valuable time for filming close-ups of items at the cafe and Tariq's kitchen, was wise. These close-ups can be achieved with a minimum crew and without the need for location, or indeed for the talent to be present.

For the latter part of the week I have been busy going through the audio files that Axle saved for me on DVDs. Some of the rushes are not synched.

Schuman will continue assembling the master shots over the coming week; hopefully, we'll have a full- very rough- assembly by the end of week 10 of post-production.

Thursday: coffee with John Batten, our stills photographer.
Friday: the pictures with Zain al-Janabi, the second youngest member of the Mesocafe family; the youngest was Layth who plays Yusif in childhood.
Zain chose the movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Dir. David- "Fight Club/Se7en"- Fincher) and the cinema- the Electric Cinema on the Portobello Road.

The film- a prodigious feat for the director and a worthy showcase for the five years he's reputed to have spent on its making. Would've been really interesting to see the film made without the use of so much CGI- would it have been possible?

The cinema- wow! With its armchair sized seats, with a side-table for each member of the audience- I'll have you know-, not to mention the sense of occasion one felt in the numbered seats, an usher directing patrons to their armchairs, the theatrical lighting of the auditorium- spotlights on details of the original interior design of the Grade II listed building, in addition to the 2-seater sofas at the back of the theater- perfect for  breaking the ice on a first date, it felt like we were at the Galaxy convention and any minute now Queen Padme would make her grand entrance and launch into a speech beseeching us to fight the dark side... great fun.

Until next week.
Ja'far

February 1st; week 8 of pot-production
Stop Press: Mesocafe has made it to the National Press. More later.

Not much to report on the film front; looking forward to start viewing the footage with Schuman on Tuesday. Should have three solid days of going through the digitized super 16mm footage.

In preparation for the edit, I have been going through the rushes and creating a simple spreadsheet that lists the tape, the scene, the slate and take plus a brief description and my opinion as to whether it is a good or not so good a take. The fact that it is a spreadsheet means it will be easy to sort the document by scene or slate and thus locate among the 19 HDCam SR tapes of the rushes exactly where the different slates that make up a scene are saved.

On Wednesday, I met our executive producer Paul Hills for a quick drink in Soho. We hadn't spoken since the night after the shoot when I called Paul before his five-week South American Odyssey. Paul is seeing his feature film, Do Elephants Pray?, through its final post-production stages. I can't wait to see it.

Friday afternoon: in Tottenham Court Road searching for a good deal on an external hard drive. Went to the place where Arij, our production manager, had bought the mini-dv tapes for the "making of" documentary of our film. For more than a month, I've had the logo of the shop staring at me from their carrier bag on my desk.

As I was pondering my options- brave the rush hour on the tube, or walk towards the West End and use my membership with a certain cinema chain to watch a movie- I received a text from Daniel. Like me, he felt like going to the pictures.

We met in Chelsea. Went for a quick Italian meal before watching "Milk". Daniel had Linguine; I couldn't resist the cite of the wood fired oven- pizza for me, please.

On Saturday, I spent the day watching the rushes and compiling the notes.

Sunday morning: quick coffee before heading to Sloane Square where Kate Higgs- our first camera assistant- et moi were to film a fund-raising evening concert for Gaza.
Needed to take a taxi to transport the camera kit.
Got chatting, as one always does with London taxi drivers.

Cab driver: Noticing my camera kit, "So, you're a photographer?"
Moi: "A filmmaker- a budding filmmaker!"
Cab driver: "What sort of things do you make?"
Moi: "Well, recently we shot a feature film... a love story of sorts set in London."
Cab driver: "Love Story? That is an old film from the 1970s."
Moi: "Yes, Great fun."
Cab driver: "Well, for its time, yes. But what is your film?"
Moi: "A story set among the Middle Eastern community of London."
Cab driver: "Why the Middle Eastern community in particular?"
Moi: "When writing a story or making a film, I feel one needs to know the subject so well that one would add something."
Can driver: "You're Middle Eastern?"
Moi: "I was born in Iraq.."
Cab driver: "Ana Masri!- I am Egyptian!"
What a small world! It turns out that sayyid Muhammad is one of fewer than a dozen of taxi drivers in London who are from the Arab world.
Sayyid Muhammad: "It takes patience and hardwork to become a London taxi-driver. I spent 15 months of full-time apprenticeship in order to pass the 'Knowledge Test' of the streets of London; others spend up to three years- they do it over weekends or part-time."
Sayyid Muhammad was happy for me to take this photo for the blog:-)

The filming of the concert at the Holy Trinity Church went remarkably well. Not only did Kate's suggestion that we get a couple of radio microphones prove to be most prudent, but the helpful sound engineer, Ollie, kindly allowed us to take a feed direct from his expertly set-up mixer and collection of mics into our camera. Brilliant.
I am looking forward to editing the footage.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]
John Batten: Production Stills Photographer

Balancing myself on two plastic buckets on the curb/sidewalk at the edge of Trafalgar Square in March 2008, I noticed in my viewfinder a gentleman enter the frame and begin to snap away.

That is how I met John. He documented the madness of my filming technique-swaying under the weight of the camera standing on top of said plastic buckets, with the ferocious London traffic passing only a feet or so behind me; a gust of wind could've easily... On the plus side, John would've captured that moment too:-)

John kindly offered to take on the role of stills photographer for the production. I didn't have the opportunity to get in touch until we were well into the shoot. I emailed him at a quarter to one in the morning of Monday the 1st of December. Fortunately for me and for the film, John read the email and responded within a few minutes. The next morning, he was on set to capture our last moments at the cafe in Westbourne Grove before we moved on to other locations.

Films I've watched this week:
At the cinema: "Milk"  and "Rachel Getting Married"

I thoroughly enjoyed "Milk" (Dir. Gus Van Sant, USA 2008) - a tour de force for Sean Penn. Brilliant production design and cinematography- vivid 1970s colours and sets. Gus Van Sant is brilliant in dramatizing the day-to-day, as well as understating the extraordinary.

"Rachel Getting Married" (Dir. Jonathan Demme, USA 2008): Truly one of those little gems of movies that in their storytelling technique, in their depiction of events, in their ensemble nature remind us all of one of the most basic reasons why we go to the cinema: stories...stories.
Somehow, the choice of HD CineAlta and other HD formats seemed to work well with the filming style and storytelling choices made by the genre hopping Jonathan Demme - his oeuvre includes "Married to the Mob" (1988) and "Silence of the Lambs" (1991).

On DVD:
El Topo (Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mexico, 1970) Having heard of the rumoured plans for a David Lynch and   Jodorowsky collaboration, thought it an opportune moment to watch once more the Chilean director's better known work. This by no means his most experimental or "controversial" work; that honour would go- in my opinion- to "Fando y Lis / Fando and Lis" (Mexico, 1968)- one of the actors later committed suicide and another became anorexic and accused the director of being a vampire who had sucked her blood...
Jodorowsky revels in his unashamed infatuation with all things surreal. I love the scene in "Fando y Lis" when a piano that is burnt and shattered with a blow refuses to "die" and comes back to life- Jodorowsky paying homage to the famous Lumière brothers shot of a crumbling and falling brick wall re-building itself and standing back upright.

Talking of DVDs, I am saddened by the closure of yet another DVD shop in my part of town. Of the 12 videoshops in which I've been a member over the past two decades, seven have shut down, three in the last three years.
Part of the reason for the failure of so many videoshops to survive is the advent of internet-based videostores. The ability to create a list of films you'd like to watch and having them sent to you by post is simply too alluring.  There is a ritual about going to the videoshop- browsing through the latest offerings, walking down memory lane by the "Romantic Comedy" section...

Wonder if anyone out there has started a "Save Our Videoshops" campaign!

Finally, Mesocafe has been mentioned in the press- in the same sentence as "The Green Zone" and "The Kite Runner" no less:-)  Final paragraph: http://www.praguepost.com/night-and-day/390-atypical-terrorism.html
OK, so it's not the UK national press- but that is even more of a plus- we're going global baby:-)
 

January 25th; week 7 of post-production

A lesson in the labyrinthine world of formats and bit-rates of new digital technology has been learnt. Remember last week when I outlined my only achievement for the whole of week 6 of post-production: booked an HDCam deck to digitize the telecined super 16mm rushes. Well, on Tuesday evening, I collected the deck from the rental facility off Goodge Street. The helpful technical adviser asked whether I would be OK with carrying the aluminium covered trunk containing the HDCam deck. I thought nothing of saying yes, only to realize a few feet into my journey back home that this is no throw-on-your-shoulder-and-forget-it's there- affair. Heavy and awkward. Managed to hop on the bus and occupied the middle isle- had to keep a watchful eye from a distance after a couple had to share the space to fit their child buggy. Got off on High Street Kensington. Pondered the prospect of walking to the station or taking another bus for the remainder of the journey, and then the walk home. Decided it would be best to invest in a set of luggage wheels- you know, the trolley that comes with straps for holding a large suitcase.

Wednesday
6:30am: shower- no breakfast.
7:30 am: at Notting Hill Gate station, waiting for the Central Line train to Liverpool Street.
8:03am: bumping into morning commuters as I try to negotiate the HDCam deck strapped onto the luggage trolley in my right hand, while pulling with my left a suitcase containing 19 HDCam tapes of the telecined super 16mm rushes.
08:10am: walking through the refurbished Spitalfield market on the way to Brick Lane.
08:20: Arrive at the studio of Schuman Hoque, our editor.
08:30am: Schuman can't get the tapes to play on the HDCam deck.

Schuman: "I hope it plays HDCam SR tapes"
Moi: "HDCam what?"
Schuman: "SR- it's the format the lab has digitized the rushes on"
Moi: "Have they?"
Schuman: "It's the highest HD resolution available in the market at the moment!"
Moi: "The lab have really done a wonderful job in creating the masters for the edit on this format, haven't they?"
Schuman: "Oh, yes. Great work. One tiny snag!"
Moi: "Can't play the tapes on this deck!"
Schuman: "Do you have the number of the rental facility?"
Moi: under my caffeine and sugar deprived breath, "please don't tell me I have to haul the deck, trunk and trolley back to Goodge Street!"
Schuman: on phone to facility: "Yes! ... how much?"
Moi: sinking feeling.
Schuman: "I'll pass you on to Ja'far".
Moi: "OK, hit me with it!"

The rental cost of the HDCam SR deck was almost three times that of the HDCam counterpart- who would've thought two letters would cost so much- frownie...

The great news was, in view of the large price-tag of the HDCam SR deck, [something in the region of £50,000], in comparison with the price of an HDCam sans SR- a mere £9,500, the rental facility kindly offered to both deliver and collect the unit. Phew.

Schuman and I spent the remainder of the day- literally- digitizing the over 11 hours of telecined super 16mm rushes. We left the studio just before midnight.

Thursday morning: back at Brick Lane to sign off the collection of the said deck. Met Schuman around 1pm in Putney to hand back the studio keys.

I am thrilled that Schuman has come aboard. We met almost eight years ago, and four years ago he edited my short film- "Eyes Wide Open"-  the exposed film for which had been patiently waiting in a 400 foot 16mm can for- wait for it, wait for it- more than five years. He brings to the project his experience as a filmmaker and editor for more than a decade.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Paul Hills: Executive Producer

Having followed his blog recounting the daily ongoings of the shoot for his indie feature "Do Elephants Pray?" and bumping into him  at the Marche du Film at Cannes last year, I met Paul in July at a greasy spoon in Soho. In a gesture reminiscent of fabled Hollywood film deals penned on restaurant napkins, Paul took a white sheet from my notebook and wrote down the names of the crew that he felt he could recommend for Mesocafe. Four members of the Mesocafe family came aboard the project thanks to Paul's recommendation and his assurances to them of the sanity- insert smiley- of this dreamer...
During pre-production, Paul guided me through many an aspect of the project. Three days before the shoot in November last year I called Paul to thank him for his huge support and belief in our project: "you know how you can reward me? make a great movie!"
Watch this space:-) 

Films I've watched this week:

"Stranger Than Paradise" (Dir. Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1984) 
"She's Gotta to Have it" (Dir. Spike Lee, USA, 1986)
I've always had a weakness for debut features- especially those funded by their makers. There is a passion, an indefatigable belief and - in most instances- a selflessness that the makers of these debut projects exude. In the case of "Stranger Than Paradise", it was Jarmusch's second feature, but also with a small budget ($90,000, estimated). Both projects provide a thread that would lead to the stylistic choices that the two directors followed in their respective careers.

Quote of the week: "For an artist to stop creating is to die." Yusif Shahin/Chahin

Salam and love,

Ja'far

January 18th; week 6 of post-production

God, post-production is not fun when there is nothing going on! What I have managed to achieve is book the HDcam deck for the middle of this week to digitise the telecined super 16mm footage of the film. We start editing on Wednesday. Really excited. In the meantime, I am to go through the continuity sheets to create some sort of a chart for the editor to work through the process of assembling into single folders/bins the different slates and takes for each scene. Shooting on film, the logistics of trying to fit into the 400ft 16mm magazine different takes of the same slate, or more than a slate, mean that one is forced to split the takes and slates between different magazines- for example, if filming a slate that would last three minutes, and the shot is captured over three takes, then the fourth take, if needed, would have to be captured on a new magazine. The remaining feet of film in the magazine may end up being used for a short slate later on in the day and which may not be part of the same scene. Working by camera film reels, the telecine at the lab would carry through the non-linear nature of the filming day into the digital media on which the super 16mm footage is telecined.

That said, the whole set of rituals that permeate shooting on film- from loading the magazines, to noting down the length in film feet of each take, the need to calculate how much unexposed film is still in the magazine and trying to figure out whether there is enough film for the next take, then changing of magazines, dropping exposed  film at the end of the shoot to the lab, waiting for a day or two to view rushes [the excitement and anxiety], all are part of the magic that add that unquantifiable je ne sais pas quoi something that connects a small nano-budget project in London with blockbuster projects in Hollywood, musical extravaganzas in Mumbai and star-studded shoots in other parts of London. It's celluloid darling...celluloid!

On Wednesday, I had coffee with Daniel Nussbuamer, our production designer. We hadn't met since the wrap party and it was refreshing to chat without the ticking pre-production/shoot clock in the back of our heads. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

On Friday, I met two other heads of department: our costume designer, Jade Page, and our sound recordist, Axle Cheeng. The meeting with Jade was only the second occasion that we'd sat for coffee. It was an opportunity for me to learn more about Jade and also to thank her for producing such a brilliant wardrobe for a cast of more than a dozen characters at an incredibly low budget.

With only hours to spare before packing for her return trip to Malaysia, Axle kindly took the journey to central London for a quick coffee and to hand me the entire recorded audio from the shoot copied on DVDs. Axle is teaming up with Kate Higgs, our first camera assistant, to run a half marathon in the spring. Respect.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Kawa Khudur Rasul: "Tawfiq"
It was at that first rehearsal of "Demoqratiyya wa Nuss/ A Democracy and a Half" at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, April 2007, that I had my initial encounter with sayyid Kawa. I remember sit Ahlam Arab instructing the more than 15-strong cast of young men and women to "hide" so that the middle of the room appeared totally empty. Kawa and the others resorted to the curtains and drapes of the windows overlooking a pedestrianised square off Kings Street.

As the weeks and months passed, I became a regular at the rehearsals that were held at a closed-down restaurant in Westbourne Grove- "Baghdad Restaurant", said the menu through a film of dust.

Many months later, I decided to shoot some pick-up shots in advance of the shoot proper for Mesocafe. Realizing that the camera kit would be available for an extra day, I thought of putting in the can a short film. For some reason- possibly work-related, I didn't have the opportunity to spend any time whatsoever on pre-production. The night before the shoot...panic!!  I only had one of two actors needed for the shoot. On hearing that the short film is loosely-based on my own experiences of working on what felt like an interminable PhD thesis, sit Ahlam asked whether I needed someone handsome to play my "doppelganger" in the film:-)  Kawa's name was the first she suggested.

During the shoot at a cafe in Earls Court, I was touched by Kawa's malleability and his patience and camaraderie with my one man film crew- cameraman, clapper/loader, director, writer, producer. Looking at his interaction with the other actor during the mini-shoot, I was convinced that he would be the ideal candidate for the role of Tawfiq in Mesocafe.

As the 17th of November and the first day of the shoot loomed near, Kawa shone through both as a member of the the fledgling cast, but also a saviour for the production through his wonderful partnership with Arij al-Soltan, his head of department and wife, in finding at short notice the cafe in Westbourne Grove where we finally filmed the cafe scenes. A smiley and calming emoticon would best describe sayyid Kawa during the whole production. Thank you.

Films I've watched this week:
"Soy Cuba/ I am Cuba" (Dir. Mikhail Kalatozov, Soviet Union-Cuba 1964) : As someone who has lived and attended school for a number of years in countries ruled by totalitarian and one-party regimes, I can empathize with some of the criticism Cuban audiences held for  "I am Cuba". The film, those interviewed more than 30 years later said, was too rhetorical and didactic in its approach to Cuban history and the role of capitalism in perpetuating the poverty and weakness of the nation.

On the other hand, viewing the film from this political, geographical and historical distance arguably gives one the advantage of experiencing it for the work of art that at some level its Russian and Cuban makers wished it to be. Far from being melodramatic or preachy, the narrator's voice is kindly, warm, and genuine in conveying what feels like a nation's soliloquy, the voice of the land on which opposing discourses are at play. Finally, the artistry of the filmmakers, those tracking shots that glide through what seem like tenth floor office windows gently hovering over squares and streets below, and preceding by decades the famous tracking shots in "The Passenger" and "Boogie Nights", not forgetting the mesmerizing qualities of the black and white cinematography by the great Sergei Urusevsky- sublime.

Until next week. 

Peace and love.

Ja'far

January 11th 2009; week 5 of post-production

I recently read a posting on shooting people where a filmmaker made an impassioned plea for positivity and optimism among budding filmmakers. Hear, hear. Without getting into the details, I would like to share with the mesocafe family- cast, crew and wonderful supporters- that I have a good feeling about 2009. 

Having only just come off seven solid nights of working at the office, I don't really have much to report on the film front, other than we have a full set of the HDcam tapes of the super 16mm telecined rushes. There had been a single tape missing; the lab were most obliging and helpful in going back to the negative for a TK of the relevant camera reels.

With still a week or so to go before we start editing, I am going to busy myself over the next few days working on logging the footage for a feature documentary- Theatre of Exile. As mentioned earlier in the blog, the documentary follows the journey of sit Ahlam Arab, who plays "Zaynab" in Mesocafe, as she shepherds s a group of mostly first-time actors from the Iraqi community in London en route to staging a play in London.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Nasri Sayegh: "Yusif"

"Speak to me in English, please", I said in my first telephone conversation with Nasri almost two years ago. He'd gotten in touch after I'd contacted Elian Raheb, the artistic director of Ayyam Beirut al-Cinama'iyyah/ Beirut DC film festival asking for her help in the casting for Mesocafe. Having always thought of the film in the English language, as opposed to Arabic, and seeding in the transgressions between the two languages an element of harmony between the wider cultures  which they both inhabit, I was keen to work with actors from the Middle East and the Mediterranean who spoke English fluently and yet were able to convey the melody and rhythm of spoken Arabic through their use of the language of Shakespeare. Realizing that Nasri lived in Paris, I was keen to avoid a strong French accent for this character who is supposed to have left Iraq only a week or so before the beginning of the film.

Marking his first visit to London, Nasri hopped off Eurostar and came straight to the auditions I held at the Cochrane Theatre in Holborn in April 2007. The management had allowed us the use of the auditorium and pathway between seats for the auditions. The actors would assemble upstairs in the coffee-shop overlooking Kingsway, fill the audition forms before heading downstairs to the stalls to read their sides to me and my little video camera.

While it took me some time during the audition before I could imagine Nasri's features as the character of Yusif, I instantly took a liking to his voice, diction and the intensity he brought to the speech he read for me. He made the character of Yusif his own.

Over pizza and a fizzy drink afterwards in Russel Square, I couldn't hold back the news and congratulated Nasri on winning the part. He was the only actor that I cast on the first day of auditions.

Despite Nasri being aboard the project for almost two years before the shoot, I think both him and I had our doubts as to whether the shoot would go ahead until the summer of 2008. We both had been through the emotional rollercoaster of planning for the shoot in meticulous detail, only for me to decide that I wasn't ready- twice: in June and December 2007 respectively.
Having looked at the rushes over the past few weeks, I realize that both the decision to postpone the shoot and to cast Nasri were inspired.

During the shoot, I conveyed to Nasri my gratitude for the work he and other members of the cast and crew were investing into the project. His response that during the time on set he treated the project like any other professional commitment was quite mature and reminded me of a conversation I'd had with Houda Echouafni almost two years ago. During one of the only two meetings we had before the shoot, I'd related to her  how touched and humbled I was by  the number of experienced actors contacting me with a view to taking part in the project. Her response was truly illuminating: try to look at it from the point of view of these actors; they are getting involved in Mesocafe because it is good for them, for their careers and for their own artistic self-satisfaction. Truly an eye-opening revelation for this budding filmmaker and I thank both Houda and Nasri for it, though my gratitude to cast and crew has not and will not wane:-)

Films I've watched this week:
"Un Flic/ A Cop" (Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville, France1972) in the same mould as "Le Samourai" (France 1967) and "Le Cercle Rouge" (France 1970), "Un Flic" embodies Melville's penchant for style, for choreography of actors, camera and framing- a sublime mastery of mise-en-scene. There is a particularly moving scene when the steely eyes of the main character, played by Alan Delon, allow us a glimpse of the man behind the facade of the relentless Commissaire Edouard Coleman police investigator: a member of the gang that had robbed a bank in a holiday resort is finally traced to his respectable home. The gang member notices the police car stopping outside his window. He hears their footsteps on the stairs. He asks his wife to open the door while he walks into the bedroom and closes the door. Coleman enters and heads straight to the bedroom door. Beyond it we see with him what we'd suspected, that the gang member would turn his pistol on himself rather than face the ignominy of losing his loot and his respectable way of life. Instinctively, Coleman closes the door, allowing the man a moment of privacy before shooting himself. Once the shot is fired, Coleman runs in and gently helps the body of the gangster to rest on the marital bed.

Melville's treatment of death and punishment can also be seen in what I believe to be his masterpiece, "Les Armee des Ombres/ Army in the Shadows" (France 1969) which chronicles the choices made by members of the French resistance during German occupation in the Second World War. There is a particularly captivating scene in the back of a car where two leaders of the resistance inform a young man that they have found irrevocable proof of his collaboration with the Germans. As the car drives around empty streets, the terror in the young man's eyes sitting next to them conveys his total helplessness as the car travels towards the location for his execution.

Quote of the week: During the 60th Cannes Film festival in 2007 I remember chatting with a couple of young men outside a kebab shop- "Istanbul sur la Croisette", the owner called it; the discussion related to the differences between men and women. Someone pointed to what he felt was the double standards of those women who insisted that looks were not as important to them when thinking of romance and love, and that personality was far more important. "When a woman sees a man in a bar or in the street, what else is attracting her to him other than his looks; his personality is hardly visible during this first encounter." One of the locals, a young man whose name I can not remember, came back with a most insightful as well as romantic response one could imagine: "in any encounter with a man or woman", he said, "one doesn't only notice the looks, but feels the energy that each person has and which is felt to varying degrees by others. This energy is as important in the friendships and love choices we make as the physical attributes of the people concerned." How beautiful is that, I ask you:-)

January 4th 2009; week 4 of post-production

It's been years since I celebrated New Year's Eve at a party; I tend to spend it with friends over a meal or staying home and watching loads of DVDs. This year I was invited to Arij and Kawa's home:. a truly auspicious beginning to the new year.

On new year's day, I attended a special Che Day screening of Steven Soderbergh's take on the life of the great Argentinian-Cuban revolutionary. The experience of watching the two parts of the film consecutively brought back memories of the days when buying ice cream during the "intermission" was part of the pleasure of going to the cinema.
Not sure if the film brought me any closer to Che Guevara the man, as opposed to the symbol...the icon.

On Friday, I was in Brick Lane to visit the studio of a filmmaking friend whom I'd first met almost eight years ago working the night shift in media monitoring. Relating to him the experience of shooting Mesocafe and how on an occasion or two during filming I'd wished if we could've had more time, an extra week or two perhaps, he made a brilliant observation- one that hadn't occurred to me before: having an abundance of time doesn't make for better decisions on set or for a better film- the compromises that one makes on set as a result of time, and other constraints-  add something [good or bad] to the project. Certainly a case of looking at the same mountain from a different angle. Brilliant.

In the evening Arij and Kawa dropped off the remainder of the paperwork and miscellaneous items from the production department, the most valuable amongst them being the three mini DV tapes of behind the scenes footage from the shoot. Regardless of whether there  is enough in these three tapes, plus the one still in the camera, for a "making of" documentary, I am so glad that we have "documented" moments of the Mesocafe family at work.

On Saturday,  met a fellow budding filmmaker for a quick chat over coffee. I am continually surprised by how young some of these talented people are.

In the evening, watched "The Reader" (Dir. Stephen Daldry, USA 2008). As the woman sitting a couple of seats away said at the end of the screening, "very brave".

I hope to be able to start editing by the end of the month.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Houda Echouafni: "Suad"
Houda and I were put in touch by one of the organisers of the Arab Cinema weekend at Bafta in March 2007.
In the 21 months separating the first email contact and the first day of the shoot we only had two meetings- in June 2007 and October 2008. Houda was one of a very small group of people who kept the faith, despite the delays and lack of a concrte shooting date for the greater part of 2007 and 2008.

In the second meeting we both laughed when we realized that we only live a few streets away from one another.

During the shoot, Houda was a joy to work with- positive and exuding good and creative energy.

Quote of the week: "There was a rare occasion when we had a script with which the studio was happy, the financiers were pleased, the distributors and everyone was keen to get involved. The problem was we only had enough in the script for the first few minutes of the film." Jean-Luc Godard

December 28th 2008; week 3 of post-production

Having viewed half of the rushes last week, I was looking forward to the bank holidays over Christmas to enjoy watching the remainder.
I can report that this budding feature-director is, to quote Roberto Benigni on winning a Bafta for "Life is Beautiful", "Really, I'm full of joy like a water melon, there's something that explodes. I cannot restrain this joy." Truly.

I was so worried that we may have missed something due to the intensity of the shoot, the evolving schedule and unforeseen last-minute location changes. I was particularly concerned over the footage we shot aboard the two cars- driven by the characters of Hussayn and Bisan respectively. With our script supervisor, Amelie, unable to find space aboard the cars (Axle was forced to record the sound from the boot of one of the two cars), it was left to me to both direct the actors and make certain the relevant bits of the the script were filmed in their entirety.
Very pleased and relieved that all's well and we have the whole film in the can. Naturally, during the edit one may agree with the editor that some pick up shots are needed, but I don't feel these are going to be essential or major endeavours.

Arij has provided me with the accounts for the final budget for the production department- brilliant work.

In the coming week, I will continue to review the footage and start working through Amelie's continuity sheets to start highlighting the better takes for the editor.

Harold Pinter, one of my heroes, has passed away. Will spend some time re-visiting and discovering more of his work- what better tribute!

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Sit* Ahlam Arab: "Zaynab"
In the late 1990s, I happened to be part of the audience at the presentation of a monodrama at the Kufa Gallery in Westbourne Grove. The woman on stage was Labwa Majid, and the director was her mother- sit Ahlam Arab.
I remember enjoying the show and staying back for the Q&A session with the director. Relating to the audience the challenges she'd faced in putting this wonderful show together, one could feel the tenacity and warmth of this artist as she opened the UK chapter in a career that began in Baghdad of the 1970s.

Years passed and I would see sit Ahlam in community and cultural events; we were finally introduced a couple of years ago at an art exhibition in Islington. At the time, I was planning to shoot the film in June 2007 and was hoping sit Ahlam would introduce me to actors from the community for what I had begun to realize was a very long list of speaking parts in the film.

Days later someone suggested I visit a studio at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, where sit Ahlam was working with a group of mostly first-time actors rehearsing a play written by sit Hamidah al-Arabi.

Watching her work, the professionalism she'd instilled into the cast made up of different age groups and social backgrounds, I regretted not having my camera to hand to capture the moment.

As part of the work in progress, Theatre of Exile [in post-production], I spent the next few months filming sit Ahlam as she guided the group through the grueling rehearsals schedule, thoroughly enjoying the mentoring I was receiving through watching her work with actors. For someone not involved in the production, it is rare to be party to the intimate process of character and story development during rehearsals. 

It was humbling and moving how quickly and without a moment's hesitation sit Ahlam agreed to become part -  the matriarch- of the Mesocafe family. Having played a central role during the casting for the film, sit Ahlam's support and belief in the project were a great source of confidence for this first-time director. It was to sit Ahlam that I turned on the one night during the shoot when I almost drowned in the merciless ocean of self-doubt and uncertainty over my ability to complete shooting the film within the short schedule.
Who knows, the experience of shooting the film with sit Ahlam may find its way into the final version of Theatre of Exile.
Watch this space:-)

*The closest translation to the expression "sit"- as in sit Ahlam- is "Dona" in Portuguese.

Films I've watched this week:
Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" (USA, 2008): Angelina Jolie reminded me of Catherine Deneuve's performance in "Repulsion" (Dir. Roman Polanski, 1965) with the way she drew you into the character's inner turmoil through those big eyes.

Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Eclisse/The Eclipse" (Italy, 1962)- the final part in the trilogy that includes the masterpiece "L'Avventura/The Adventure" (Italy, 1960) and "La Notte/The Night" (Italy, 1961), the film follows the story thread that began in "L'Avventura" with the two characters succumbing to the love they have for one another, through to the ups and downs of the relationship in "La Notte" and finally, the moment of separation in "L'Eclisse".
After the usual route into Antonioni's galaxy- i.e. "Blow Up" (UK, USA, Italy 1966)- I discovered my own little rock when I watched "The Passenger" (Italy, Spain, France 1975) as part of a film course. A must see for all budding filmmakers, comme moi.

For the new year, may all our dreams come true- staggered and in installments so we enjoy every one and each of them.

Quote of the week: "And also, I would like to thank my parents: they gave me the biggest gift...poverty". Roberto Benigni

Peace and salam.
Ja'far
 

December 21st; week 2 of post-production

One of the great advantages of living in London is the huge choice of international cuisine that warms cold wind swept high streets from -that ubiquitous British institution- the Indian curry house to Thai food, to Italian Delis to Lebanese cafes to one or two Iraqi eateries- one is simply lost for choice. On meeting our production manager, Arij al-Soltan, and the rest of the production department- i.e. Kawa Rasul, who is also her husband, for a meal on Monday, I was glad that they'd already opted for a safe option- an Iranian restaurant in Westboune Grove.

It was a joy to spend what felt like half an hour, but was in fact close to three hours, with this lovely couple chatting, reminiscing about the shoot and simply catching up as three friends would after being away for a couple of months- for during preproduction and the shoot, we hardly had the chance to sit and talk at leisure, so busy were we all.

Walking with them to their car, we passed the cafe that morphed into "Mesocafe" during the shoot- I think for years to come I will have a soft spot for the place.

Arij is still wading through the paperwork of the project. The figure she mentioned  as the total amount spent in her department wasn't beyond my post-shoot expectations; it was about two and half times as high as I had originally budgeted for. During the shoot, I realized that I'd been  optimistic in my forecast of the shoot budget for transport, expenses, catering, location fees, car and van rentals, fuel, insurance etc. etc. etc.  Armed with her experience as a director and producer of documentary films, Arij has done a brilliant job in keeping the costs to a minimum; I later found out the lengths to which Arij, and Kawa, had gone to keep catering costs to a reasonable level- striking deals with an Iraqi catering factory in the outskirts of London to provide the cast and crew delicious food similar to  the dishes the character of Zaynab serves the regulars at Mesocafe, and even drafting in members of her immediate family to make us those delicious lamb burgers that we had while filming the office scenes .  Simply wonderful.

On Wednesday morning, I had the chance to take an audit of the telecine tapes we have for the rushes; realized that a couple of tapes were missing. I emailed the lab. Think their absence is due to issues we'd had with the flash cards on which sound files were copied for the lab- they decided to provide us two days' worth of rushes simply on DVD without their tape masters. Spoke with the lab on Friday morning and all appears to be well; two of the tapes are ready for collection and a third may need to be produced from a new telecine of the relevant film rolls.

Having created a viewing list of the rushes, I began with camera roll 1 from the first night of the shoot: the scenes at the Mesocafe counter. My first AD, Mahmoud, had come up with the shooting plan for the cafe scenes where the place was divided by table and location; all that takes place at a particular section of the cafe would be grouped into a single schedule. The counter is the cafe owner's throne where she holds court. Sit Ahlam Arab is simply sublime as Zaynab the cafe owner conducting transactions over the telephone, serving food, giving marriage advice to the regulars, while keeping an eye on the new comer to the cafe, Yusif. It was on this first night of the shoot that we filmed the scene with sit Sajidah Amory, the wonderful lady who'd started a community-wide search campaign for that elusive purse- see the full story in pre-production. I think the camera likes her:-)

Rather than watch the whole footage in one week, I think I would like to extend the joy of the experience by leaving a few tapes for next week.

On Wednesday, had pizza and coke with Kawa and Mazin Imad, the 'oud player and singer despite whose best attempts we'd failed to deliver a decent rendition of the old song at the wrap party. During the shoot, Mazin was one of those faces from whom I sought the positive and happy energy I desperately needed when the going was not so good. He would visit the film set, just to say hello and make sure all was well.
We chatted about the sound track for the film and the sort of music that would work with the story. I asked Mazin for advice regarding the issue of copyright on old Iraqi songs.

On our way out from the Italian Pizzeria in Westbourne Grove, I stopped the posse and pointed to the desserts fridge- "Cannoli", I shouted:-)

On Saturday, I headed to St John's Wood to renew a ritual I'd missed for a few months now; to spend time with two very close friends. One has many friends in London, and after the shoot I can say I have many more dear friends in London and around the world, but there are two close friends who have witnessed and accompanied the journey of this celluloid dreamer. One is sayyid Wajdi, a poet I first met back in 1991. Our friendship blossomed during what has now become a legendary walk in 1992 across the West End of London in which we may have chatted every single person we came across- to what end, neither of us can still figure out. Great fun, and neither of us ended the night with a black eye:-)
On these walks, sayyid Wajdi would recite from his evolving repertoire of poetry on love and politics. He reminded me of another great friend, a childhood friend [sayyid Ahmad] who back in 1985 would read out aloud -to the surprise of passers-by in the West End- from classic pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.
The second, sayyid Layth- a most gentle and kindly man if there ever were one. I'd met Layth in the mid 1990s when I was still unsure as to the direction in life one would lead. He was the only person who knew, back at the end of 1998, that I would be taking my first 16mm film production course at the Lux centre in Hoxton Square. I had told Layth due to his encyclopedic film and literary knowledge- not only is he the sort of person who would be good at a pub quiz, but is incredibly well-read- he spoke of the Arabic translation of the famous Truffaut book on Hitchcock before I knew of such a book. 
Both sayyid Wajdi and sayyid Layth have been hearing about my various film projects since I first came up with the idea for making an Arabic language version of Top Gear in 1999. They both were the first to watch the rough edit of a "Two Hour Delay", a 16mm B/W short I made in the summer of 2000 and which later took part in a small film festival in the Gulf, and they've been a great source of information in my research during the writing of the Mesocafe screenplay.

A member of the Mesocafe family [will go by date of joining family]

Alessio Valori: Director of Photography
Taking advantage of the privilege of being a programming assistant at the 2006 Raindance Film Festival, I had opted to watch yet another movie on my festival pass. IL SEGRETO DI RAHIL/ Rahil's Secret  (Directed by Cinzia Bomoll, Italy, 2006) was about an Iraqi teenage girl roaming the streets of Rome on her own. Alessio was the DP, and I managed  to circumnavigate the members of the audience who had surrounded him, one of them trying to impress upon Alessio his pleasure with the film, despite his annoyance with the English subtitles.

In the first week of January 2007, we met for coffee at a small cafe at the famous Foyles bookshop in Tottenham Court Road. At the time, the intention was to shoot the film at the end of 2007; the conversation was, therefore, about the future and how it would be possible to shoot the script within such a short shooting schedule.

A couple of months later, I had this brainwave that saw me bring the shoot date forward to June 2007. Alessio played along, meeting me for a location recce at a cafe in Earls Court where I thought we would be filming. He kept the faith through two postponements- from June to December 2007 and then to the actual shoot of November-December this year.

In his capacity as DP, a head of department, Alessio was instrumental in allowing me to bring my vision to the screen. Having arrived on the first night of the shoot to the decision to discard the shot list Mahmoud and I prepared during the final week of pre-production, I felt safe and totally at ease in seeking Alessio's advice regarding blocking and movement of characters within the frame.

At the wrap party, Alessio finally shared with me the secret behind the length of his beard- he generally starts the shoot with a clean/recent shave- the length of the beard at the end of the shoot reflects the number of weeks he'd been filming. At the wrap party, he thought his beard had grown to a still manageable size- we could do with another week:-)

Films I've watched this week:
Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" (USA, 2008). A brilliant endeavour to break free from the "Reel Bad Arabs" school of Hollywood films.
Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir" (Israel, 2008). Simply the best film I've seen this year. Back in May I had failed to get a ticket for the screening at Cannes; very pleased to get to see it- the venue, the refurbished Gate Cinema in Notting Hill Gate, was a bonus.
John Schlesinger's "Yanks" (UK, USA, W Germany, 1979). It's always rewarding to trace in the film language, the cinematic flourishes of a great director, echoes of his earlier work. Being a great fan of "Terminus" (UK, 1961), "Billy Liar" (UK, 1963), in addition of course to his better known works, "Midnight Cowboy" and "Marathon Man", it was a joy to watch the great master show glimpses of his documentary filmmaking past in "Yanks". It was a great bonus to see Andy Lucas, [credited as Andy Pantelidou], almost thirty years before gracing the Mesocafe family with his participation.

Quote of the week: "And always remember: 'You know when you've been habibi'd.'"  Daniel Nussbaumer
 

December 14th; Week 1

The wrap party:

Effortlessly elegant, Daphne shared with us the legendary Greek hospitality: she invited the cast and crew, all 30 of us, to her home.

It was simply magical- Nasri finally let his hair down and allowed the admiration of the female members of cast and crew to wash over him- think he is still wiping the lipstick:-)

It was so nice to finally get the opportunity to talk at leisure with people- Daphne, Houda et moi reclined over the sofa and talked with abandon, then had the chance to talk with Kate, Amelie and Alice [pronounced "Alicheh"- in Italian] in the kitchen. A couple of people suggested that I say a few words- having started the shoot with a heart-to-heart at the café the night before the shoot.

"Like your first kiss, your first date and your first love letter, you only make one first-feature; this first long-metrage journey, I imagine, will stay with me for years to come. It will, [it has at some level], help mould me into the experienced director that I -hopefully- will become. As I have said in the blog during the shoot, I was the only person on set who could afford to sit down and watch everyone else go about their creative roles; I feel I had the opportunity to learn more than anyone else during the shoot.

"So in the years to come, if I start making some really bad movies, you all will be blamed for inflicting yet another mediocre director on the world!"

I then sang for the cast and crew- Kawa, Zein, Husham, Arij and I sang the classic Iraqi song, "Foug il-Nakhal Foug…Foug il-Nakhal Foug/ Over the palm trees.. did I see your beautiful cheeks or was it the moon", inspired by hearing the song performed by Rivers of Babylon- a band made up mainly of members of the Iraqi Jewish diaspora. Despite the brave efforts of Mazin Imad, a professional vocalist and Oud player, to shore up the performance, I don't think there is any danger of us being asked to sing again- ever.

The party lasted until the very early hours.

On the drive home, Kawa, Alex, Valentina, Amelie et moi dropped Nasri at his hotel. After more than twenty months since first meeting him at the auditions back in April 2007, I shook Nasri's hand and thanked him for keeping the faith in the project through two postponements and many many rewrites.

As ever, Kawa was the last man out- dropping me home.

When I finally woke up on Monday, around midday, it was strange not finding yet another call-sheet. The two page document had become the freesheet of the project- the map everyone goes by during the day- Alessio and camera department checking whether a scene is day or night; Jade and Valentina, which story day; actors, which scene; Daniel and art department, dressing the location; moi…everything.

After answering a few emails, I headed to my local cinema to watch a film, any film. Hadn't been to the cinema for more than three weeks.

After the pictures, I found myself wandering into a café in Chelsea in which I'd only been once previously- it was a first date…in 1992 or 1993… the date went well, but for some reason, I'd never gone back to the café. Carrot cake and a large latte  supplemented the first pages of "Arabian Jazz", the novel by Dian Abu Jaber, that the lovely manager of al-Saqi bookshop had reserved for me.

With some time still left before starting the night shift at the office, I took a long walk through the West End to the City.

Getting back to work was strange, to say the least. Was pleased to see friends and colleagues after a five-week sojourn. I have a bit of catching up; so much has happened during my absence.

On Thursday evening, I met Amelie over coffee. She handed me a folder with all the continuity sheets and script breakdown for the film. Brilliant. Amelie is busy preparing for a project with Alice, and hopefully a budgeted feature film. Go girl:-)

I haven't had the opportunity to meet the editor this week.

I am determined to make some sort of a start in the post-production journey this week. I think I will spend the week reviewing all the rushes, aided by Amelie's file. Next week off work, I will digitize the footage as an offline and create the folders/bins that the editor will need to start the magic. The fact that we already have synced rushes helps greatly.

A tip for first time-feature directors: the night before the shoot, make sure you have an adequate supply of - wait for it…wait for it- fresh and clean underwear and socks; it will add to your confidence during those moments when you have to get close and whisper your notes to the actors:-)

 Peace,

Ja'far

------------

1-

December 2002
"Somewhere nice and sunny?", asked the young travel agent in Baker Street, trying hard to marshal a semblance of enthusiasm  on this cold December evening. "A place that would take me away from the wall-to-wall news coverage of the march to war, the excitement in the eyes of TV journalists as they reported on the latest hard-tech military hardware being assembled in the Gulf ready to be tested in the forthcoming war, and the deafening silence with which his office colleagues in London tried to keep away from him their visceral arguments over the case for war on his country of birth- the old country, please."

He looked at the destinations list and his eyes were drawn to "Brazil". Apart from the films, literature, and-- Frank Sinatra's "the girl from Ipanema", Brazil offered Portuguese and his total ignorance of the language. He wouldn't be able to follow the news, even if he tried- Satellite TV would not be on the menu in the small family-run places in which he would stay.

A few days later, he was on an Air France 777 gliding towards Rio de Janeiro.

Days would pass; he would attempt a hedonistic existence- returning to his hotel room in the early hours, having met many many of those girls from Ipanema and realized how trying it would be to move from "Ola" to "dinner" without speaking the language.

There were quite a few who spoke English- one in particular made him wish if he could speak- sing- her language. Luciana-
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
   Thou art more lovely and more temperate: 
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 
   And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 
   And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines, 
   By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; 
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, 
   Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; 
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, 
   When in eternal lines to time thou growest; 
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, 
   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

One afternoon, back at the hotel for a quick shower and a change of clothes, he realized there was satellite TV afterall. The second item on BBC World was live coverage of a conference of the Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussain held in London with the support of the US and British Governments. The aim of the conference, it would later transpire, to find the basis for a government in exile that would takeover Iraq post-invasion/liberation/war. His feelings towards this group of compatriots- understanding of the reasons behind their decision to work with the Americans, and yet totally opposed to the war- became even more confused  and contradictory with the appearance on the screen of a very dear and close friend of his. The friend was taking part in the conference. Listening to him explain to the interviewer the rationale for  supporting the forthcoming "liberation", he sensed the despair and desperation in the voice of this good friend- he'd despaired of other means to topple the tyranny and he was desperate to return home- where when asked of your origins, you respond with the name of a city, a town or a village, not a country as is the case when asked in your exile.

The brutality of war on the one hand and...Luciana on the other...the thoughts began to overlap as he walked through the Santa Teresa quarters of Rio...