For the first time the suffering of Palestine in Japan.. Kamel Al-Basha reveals the details

You see him walking very quietly on the sides of the opera, but his eyes insinuate and remember all the details of places and people, he has an extraordinary memory capable of remembering everything, and with his first participation in the Cairo International Film Festival in his 44th session with a short film, he expressed a great happiness for this participation through the film “Hamza… I’m Chasing Someone Chasing Me” in an interview with Al-Arabiya.net, where the Palestinian artist Kamel Al-Basha said that he was very happy about this participation in a large and prestigious international festival such as the Cairo Film Festival, because it contains a huge number of very important interactive workshops and seminars.

Isn’t this your first participation in the Cairo International Film Festival?

Indeed, this is the second participation in the festival, in which I participated in the previous session with the film Curfew, in which I act with the stars Elham Shaheen and Amina Khalil, directed by Amir Ramzes, especially since the Cairo Film Festival is considered one of the 15 most important in the world film festivals, and my feeling of participating in the festival this time is different. Exactly, where I discuss the issue of my country Palestine.

How do you see the participation of your film “Hamza” at the International Film Festival in Cairo?

My participation in the film “Hamza: I’m Chasing Someone Chasing Me” in the short narrative competition at the 44th Cairo International Film Festival is a great honor for me, because Egypt means a lot to the Palestinians, more than what the Egyptians can imagine, and their connection with the Egyptians it is not only emotional, but human and intellectual. Getting to the Cairo Film Festival, one of the most important film festivals in the world, is not easy and opens the door to the world. The film is very special for me, because it is Palestinian par excellence. It also enjoys the special aspect of being produced and pocketed by Palestinians, and also because the film features great acting talent, all of them. They had visions and one goal, which was to release a prominent Palestinian cinematographic film.

What motivated you to participate in this work?

Not because it is a youthful experience, but because of the quality of the script and director Ward Kayal, who considers this work his debut in the cinema, then concessions are made in terms of material or an increase in working time, just as the film was shot in the abandoned village of Al-Birwa , which is the village of the late Mahmoud Darwish, located in the mountainous area of ​​Haifa. We put in a lot of physical and muscular effort, but art is a great pleasure for me, and the art and cinematographic industry faces some problems, including the lack of a specific authority for the industry and the neglect of art works by the Palestinian government in general.

On the right is Kamel El Pasha

How did you feel shooting this film?

I am proud of the Palestinian people’s awareness of the importance of cinema in communicating our cause to the whole world and I remember that as soon as the door was opened for donations for the production of the film online, we found a stream of financial and in-kind donations for the film crew represented in donating money or securing meals for the team or cars to facilitate the movement of others, and we resorted to it. This method is used in the absence of foreign funding, especially in films that serve the Palestinian So, it is possible to say that the work was produced with the financing of the Palestinian people, and it is not the first work that has been produced in this way, and it will not be the last.

Who is “Hamza”? What difficulties did you encounter during filming?

“Hamza” is a Palestinian fighter who is approaching the age of 60. He is haunted by delusions until he decides to bravely face them, after leaving the occupation prisons and the martyrdom of his friend. Some of the scenes that really made him tired included the scenes of running and filming in forests and mountainous areas, and he said that the most difficult scene he faced in the film was the scene of carrying one of his co-stars, who weighs more than 60 kilograms, and walking with him for a long distance, and that those scenes were re-filmed several times, in addition to the fact that we ran a lot and filmed in forests and mountain areas in the middle of grass and thorns, because during the film we deliberately presented the audience with more than one angle in life and left the imagination of the viewer to expect events in accordance with his life and this is the most prominent characteristic of the work.

Since your new series, “Room 207,” has been on the air, has it been a big success?

Thank God, the series is currently being shown on the “Watch” platform and I am very pleased with the audience’s reactions to the first episodes of the work and I am very happy for my participation in Egyptian art, despite my presence in works from Japan, Belgium, America and many countries.Al- Arabiya, pointing to his effort to present new roles that are not repetitive or worn out, “I don’t want to turn into a typical actor.”

What reasons prompted you to participate in this work?

The character “Mina”, which I embody, is full of ambiguity and pain, and the script attracted me from the first moment, although the Egyptian dialect was the most difficult thing I faced in the preparation period, but I overcame this obstacle in a very big percent, after I read the text in the Palestinian dialect, and I think I managed to convey personal feelings and deepen them.

Are there new businesses?

With the beginning of the new year, the worldwide series produced by Disney Plus is scheduled to be shown, and I finished filming last April, and the events revolve around tension in eight episodes, about a group of thieves who steal a safe, and the members of the gang are in pursuit, and it embodies the full the role of a treasure thief who is an expert.

In addition, there are currently some negotiations going on to present an Australian series, consisting of only 6 episodes, which revolves around the Arab communities present there, and I have also contracted to perform a Japanese play which deals with the suffering of Palestinian prisoners during the occupation. prisons, and this is the first time I perform a theater piece with a Japanese band, so it’s a new and important experience for me, especially since I play the title role, which is a Palestinian prisoner, and it will be shown in Palestine for a week, next January, after which I will perform 12 performances in Japan.