Karim El Damanhoury in “Against Fracture”… Moanes Abdel Rahman in “Newton’s Game”… and Jamal Al Sawaf in “Room 207”, and other unique dramatic works, during which the actor Mohamed Farrag was able to achieve excellence and draw the attention of the viewers with his mastery of the roles and his impersonation of the characters. With its diversity between action, tragedy and comedy. After an absence from the cinema for 3 years since he presented the film “The Black Box” with Mona Zaki, Farag returned to give a strong start with his new film “Foy!” Foy! Foy!”, which achieved high positions at the box office, and was recently nominated to compete in the 96th “Oscars” Awards.. “Zahrat Al-Khaleej” met Mohamed Farraj, while he was attending the special screening of the movie “Foy!” Foy! Foy!” In the Emirates, to tell us about his feeling about this nomination, the difficulties he faced in embodying the character of “The Blind and Sighted One,” the secret of the artistic chemistry that brings him together with Nelly Karim, and his upcoming artistic projects:
Congratulations on the nomination of your new film, “Foy!” Foy! Foy!” To compete in the 96th Academy Award… How did you feel when you heard the news?
An indescribable feeling. I experienced double joy, especially since I heard the news of the film’s nomination for the “Oscars,” when I attended the special and first screening of the film in the Emirates, which I consider my second country, and I was among my audience and a crowd of representatives of local and Arab media outlets. At that time, I couldn’t help myself; To the point that I “cried with joy.” It was an honor for me and the entire team to compete with the film for this international award. This nomination is considered a dream for every artist, and it came as a result of the effort and effort we made in order to implement fine work in terms of image and content.
Complete movie
Did you expect the film to participate in this international award, or to be shown at international festivals?
The elements of the film’s success are complete, starting with the huge joint production between Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Fox Studios, and Film Clinic, and the distinct and different content, inspired by real events, and highlighting illegal immigration with a dramatic story in a comedic form. In addition to the distinguished work team, including the author and director Omar Khalal, and the actors Nelly Karim, Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouky, and Basant Shawqi, a rich artistic synthesis was created; To present a different cinematic work, making it worthy – and worthy – of participating in international festivals and forums, and winning international awards.
Work is considered absolute heroism for you. Are you one of the artists who seeks to present works of art that are absolute heroism?
In the sport of football, every striker seeks to score goals, and the same applies to the artist. There is no actor who does not seek to reach his dream to the top, and aspires to participate in major roles that add to his professional career and bring him artistic and personal achievement. But I am not one of the artists who keeps this goal in mind in every artistic work. What is important to me is the nature of the role, the details of the character that highlight my acting capabilities, and the elements of the success of the work, including production, writing, direction, and the work team. Since I entered the field of art (more than 23 years, in theatre, television, and cinema), I have been trying to develop myself and my skills. So that I can reach the highest levels in my work.
Omar Hilal directed the film, in his first directing experience in the world of feature films. How was the cinematic cooperation with him?
Hilal has achieved a distinguished career over the years in the field of directing advertisements, and his desire to write and direct his first cinematic work came; When he read on one of the news sites about the incident of Egyptians impersonating blind people, before they went missing in Poland, the news caught his attention, and he wanted to present an artistic work inspired by these events, mixing drama and black comedy, and as soon as Hilal Script offered me the work, I immediately agreed without hesitation. Especially since I found the story different and with meaningful content, and I also have a passion for true stories. Frankly, Hilal carried out the work with complete professionalism. Until he reached the viewer with complete credibility.
How were you able to embody the role of “Hassan,” who claims to be blind?
Mixes «Foy! Foy! Foy!” Drama and comedy, its story revolves around the young man “Hassan”, who works as a security guard, lives a poor life with his mother, and seeks to travel outside Egypt by joining a football team for the blind in one of the World Cup tournaments in Europe, and decides to pretend that he is a blind player. On this journey, he meets many characters, including: a young journalist named “Angie,” played by Nelly Karim, who is interested in writing about that team, and a middle-aged coach looking for an opportunity and his body is Bayoumi Fouad, along with his two friends who share with him in going to great lengths; To be with the team, hoping this will provide their ticket to life, and more opportunities. This role represents a qualitative leap for me in acting performance, as it took me a long period of preparation and readiness, in order to impersonate the character with credibility and realism in front of the camera, especially since it is difficult to play the role of a blind person who plays football, and he basically “acts” that he is blind.
“I’m coming”
What does “Foy!” mean? Foy! Foy!”?
It is a word in Spanish that means “I am coming.” It is used by the blind football team during the match, as the ball has a bell that emits a sound, so that the player can reach the ball, and says “Voi Voi,” so that the players know that he is coming so that he does not collide with them, and from here. The difficulty came during the preparation and filming period, to reach all the dimensions and details of the character. The most difficult thing about the experience was claiming that I was a blind person, so I had to master the character’s tools and make a greater effort, so that the audience would believe me and interact with the events.
Nelly Karim co-starred in a number of works, most of which were very popular. How do you describe the “artistic chemistry” that brings you together?
I collaborated with Nelly Karim in approximately 5 works, including: “Free Fall,” “Against Fracture,” and “Under Control,” all of which achieved great resonance and remarkable Arab spread. I deal with her with complete comfort on filming sites, and we get along together in the scenes. What brings us together, her presence in any work adds to it and enriches it. She is a professional star and actress, and she considers me “what good” to me since we worked together in “Under Control.”
After the great success of the first part of the horror and suspense series “Room 207”… what is the fate of the second part?
The work is still in the writing stage, and the date of filming has not yet been determined. The work and production team will not begin its implementation until after the completion of all the equipment and preparations, in order to ensure that it comes out at a distinguished level, no less good than the first part.
Do you have new artistic projects?
The series “Belly of the Whale” will soon be shown on one of the digital platforms. It is a short dramatic work, consisting of 15 episodes, co-starring with me: Bassem Samra, Asmaa Abu Al-Yazid, Samah Anwar, Basma, and Abdulaziz Makhyoun, and it is written and directed by Ahmed Fawzi. Saleh, whose events revolve around a man who works in the pottery industry, who is forced – in some way – to cooperate with extremist groups, so he enters into several conflicts, and events escalate.
