Updated: April 7, 2008
It Takes a Village to Make This Film
Dead Sea acting workshop nets a short film YaHalaWood
April 6, 2008
Dozens of boys and girls gathered for the one-day acting workshop led by Jordanian screen actress Nadia Odeh. But only a few were admitted this time. The look of disappointment on the faces of those who were left out was too much to bear. So we came up with the idea of making a film that anyone in the village who showed up for the training can act in.
What a great idea to keep the momentum going in this small impoverished village in the Jordanian Dead Sea community of Ghour Maz'ra'a.
The film idea was silly and simple enough to shoot unscripted and with the least amount of rehearsals. When it was explained to the young talents from the village, it was an easy sell. And in no time, it was ACTION/CUT time.
The laughs and the smiles form our talents, young and old, made it worth everyone's while.
Our talented 15-years-old Suhayb Ja'a'raat, who already acted in another short titled Rasha, takes the lead role as the unscrupulous local producer, manager of YaHalaWood Films, who wants to promote his film production services at any cost.
Dr. Suhayb meets with Hollywood filmmaker Jon Pierre (Rabee Zureikat) and Hollywood stars Su Su (Nadia Odeh) and Feetoo (Fathi Hwaimel) who are looking for a local producer to make an action film about killing evildoers. It was a match made in heaven.
The end product is a promotional video for YaHalaWood Films, showcasing their success with Hollywood and advertising their low prices.
The whole experience was a blast. We made a few dreams come true in a small way as kids acted small parts. Maybe some of those who experienced the making of this short will be inspired to pursue their passion in filmmaking. We have seen it before.
The acting workshop was organized by Rabee Zureikat, cooperative filmmaker and founder of the Zikra Initiative, and the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative, a non-profit indie filmmaking cultural initiative.
Special thanks to screen star Nadia Odeh for volunteering her time to put a smile on the faces of children and adults alike in Ghour Maz'ra'a.
RELATED LINKS
TRAILER: YaHalaWood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVKMxvAFSf0Hope Films: Tales from The Dead Sea
http://ammanfilmmakers.alif.com/feb-20-08-hopefilms-ghour.htmThe Amman Filmmakers Cooperative
http://JordanianFilms.comJordanian Films
http://YouTube.com/JordanianFilms
(for more films, search Google Video for "amman filmmakers")Zikra Initiative
http://ZikraJordan.org