While working on this short film I want to work with the actors closely and in order to let them play the characters as well as I want I need to make them become these characters for 7 days of shooting. The rehearsals will start in Abu Dhabi a few days before the official start of shooting since I need to check how comfortable the actors feel. Since there are only 2 actors in the whole film I will work with them closely to explore their interior world and apply it to the film. I want to give them more freedom than I usually give to my actors since this film will be strongly supported by the feelings and acting skills of these two characters. 

This is going to be a short narrative film. The style will be very mystique and dramatic since both of the characters face such big emotional and physical changes, which make them reinterpret their ways of thinking. We will not see the drama in every part of the film but it will be hidden in every day actions, which must be interpreted by the viewer himself. The relationship between the characters will not be shown 100% clearly and I got this inspiration from the characters in “I Killed My Mother,” “Heartbeats,” “Laurence Anyways” by a Canadian director Xavier Dolan. 

The philosophical aspect of the film will not be teaching but it will be very personal to specifically these two characters but all the audience will feel that they are actually the main protagonists since this story has happened to us all – trying to retain relationship, being so close, lying to yourself and living in a mirage or a dream and realizing at the end that it all was just imaginary world. This film will be taking it on a different level where the feelings and emotions will be reflected on the location and nature around the protagonists. Their connection with nature will be a mirror of their interior world. And I got this inspiration from “The Tree of Life” by Terrence Malick. I want to keep the narrative quite simple since the beauty is hidden in simplicity. Abbas Kiarostami’s films attract me a lot by the special atmosphere of being close to his actors who keep the narrative so interesting by being extremely realistic and natural. This is another inspiration for my film. 

Many classes that I took were so helpful in creating this idea of making a film, of course. The fundamental class “Concept of Film and New Media” helped me understand what genre of film I like and how they can be reinterpreted and combined. “Sound, Image, and Story” was the class, which made me want to major in Film. This class was great for understanding basic concepts of shooting, editing and also being emotionally involved and dedicated to your film. The class “Sight & Sound,” which I am taking in New York right now is perfect for learning how to work in a crew since we all have partners and change our positions in a crew every week. In my opinion, a good director has to know not only directing but also how the camera works, how to set the lights up, how to cast actors and many other things that I learned in this class. Another great class that is helping me a lot is “Producing for Film.” Knowing how to find a good script, pitch the idea, create a great crew and cast good actors is a major part of filmmaking. Also, the financial aspect of the class will help me in budgeting and planning it.