D Is for Director: Inside the Mind of Morad Mohamed
Yellow. Shiny yellow. Hot yellow? Maybe orange.
I squint my eyes as I spot where exactly does the sun take place in today’s bright blue sky. I need perfect lighting for this scene.
“Morad! I’m getting tired here.”
“Sorry. Okay, move three steps to the left, yes yes, and now one step forward. Exactly! Right there.”
You’re probably wondering who Morad is (I doubt you even care at all, yet give me my moment). I’m Morad; Morad is me. My name’s Morad Mohamed, a 17-year-old boy who’s currently standing on the set of my new film ‘The Girl Who’s Not From Here’. Oh did I say my? Well, it’s true. I can proudly say that I’m one of the founders of 'Basbousa Productions' and I can also proudly say that my team and I have been working our asses off since late April to bring this baby (aka our film, keep up!) to life. ‘The Girl Who’s Not From Here’ took the longest time ever amongst all of our past films and let me tell you: It’s fucking exhausting, but it’s fucking worth it.
“From earth to director! Come take a look at this.” One of my teammates calls over for me.
“This shot turned even better than I expected! Good job, guys.”
Oh wait, I forgot to tell you my role in all of this. I’m the director, in case you couldn’t tell already. Oh wow, this feels good. What feels good you may ask? Being able to say “I’m the director” because, well, I’ve been wanting to become one ever since I discovered my love for the cinema from a really young age. I even made sacrifices, not a dump-your-girlfriend-to-pursue-your-dream-on-the-other-side-of-the-country kind of sacrifice but, more like an abandon-basketball kinda sacrifice. You see, when 'Basbousa Productions’ was done with its first film, I felt genuinely good. The audience’s reaction added the cherry on top, and that made me realise that I have to work really hard and, after that, I had to go through a lot of trial-and-error kind of experiences. Therefore, basketball: bye-bye.
“See you tomorrow!” I wave at everyone before heading off home. Oh, how I don’t want to be back home right now.
I’m in 11th grade, which is a terrible academic year for any IGian. My exams are just around the corner, and that means that I’ll have even less time to work on my other hobbies.
Literally no one: What are your other hobbies?
Me to the invisible crowd: I’m into digital art/graphic design and also photography. They both help me with building frames and colour coordination (this might sound like some boring directors stuff to you but I live for this shit, man).
Anyway, that’s not it. I’m a man of many talents (also super humble) and these include writing and reading. I would like to thank the first caveman/woman who invented writing and reading as they help me in constructing my imagination so that I could creatively caption a scene. Last but not least, video editing is definitely making this list.
The sound of my footsteps falters as I notice a conversation going on between a young couple on the street.
“Oh my god, is this your dad again?” The girl winces, extending her hand to lightly touch the purple bruise around the guy’s eye.
“Yeah but it’s no big deal.” He dismisses her hand and backs away a little.
“But-“
“No buts. Whenever I get hit, it toughens me up a little.”
I bet you one million pounds this (probably 20-year-old) man is experiencing massive childhood trauma. An abusive dad, maybe also a caring mum who always fights the dad and lots of screaming. Little scared boy. Now a big scared boy. However the story goes, this grown man is broken and scarred.
My invisible crowd: “Oh, Morad, how did you know all of this?”
“Thank you for the good question. I don’t know anything; I’m just an observer so I tried to analyse his story.”
Woah, wait! Back up a couple of lines. Did he just say that beating the shit out of him ‘toughens him up’? Duuuuude, that’s just wrong. I can’t blame him though; It’s 2019 and people are still glorifying toxic masculinity which, can I just say, DRIVES ME CRAZY. You want to wear pink? Wear it. I support you. I love you. You’re my hero. You want to cry? Hell yeah, man! Let’s go on a crying spree. We’re boys, we’re not robots.
“For a boy to wear pink, dye his hair and have piercings so he could connect with his inner feelings doesn’t make him less of a man. On the contrary, it portrays his manhood even more.” — the great (and humble) Morad Mohamed, 2k19.
I’m rooting for you fellow sperms!
There are a lot of wrong concepts going on in our society, that’s why I always feel connected to the stories of my films.
Once I got home, I opened up the notes I took regarding the last film I directed. Most of the time, I know my mistakes. However, I still ask the 'Basbousa Productions’ audience for criticism to confirm my doubts. I quickly go over my mistakes so I don’t make them twice (wisdom should be my middle name).
Well, time for some IG bullshit now.
—
It’s been a long tiring day (I spared y’all the details of my fight with studying, you're welcome); therefore, I need to end it on a happy note, and happy + note = music.
Wow, I’m a math genius.
My playlist is full of all genres, regardless of whether they’re Arabic or English songs. I shuffled it and the first song that came on was of the Arabic hip-hop genre, which ignited the spark inside my brain even more. Don’t worry, I don’t have brain damage, that’s just a metaphor since filming an Arabic hip-hop music video is very high on my to-do list.
An hour passes by and I pause the music to check my Instagram DMs before I go to bed. I’ve got a new request from a stranger asking for advice. Damn, someone wants a bit of directing advice from me. I feel good.
“Dear stranger, shoot anything even if its script is shitty and use your friends as the actors but, most importantly, give yourself credit and display your name as a director.”I click send.
Am I a legend or what?
It’s currently almost 4 am while I’m reminiscing with you, my invisible crowd, the story of the director Morad Mohamed. But, unfortunately, it’s time for goodbye.
Goodbyes are always hard *sheds a tear*
No, but seriously.
Peace out,
D
p.s: (D is for director)
- DISCLAIMER: all characters and scened described in this blog are purely a work of fiction except for Morad and Basbousa Productions work, Morad was interviewed and this story is based on who he is as a person, however, this is a ficional day in his life that did not actually happen. -