The Emirati director, Mohammed Saeed Hareb, was able to achieve remarkable success by transferring his artistic expertise from the world of cartoons and animation drawings to the cinema, and he had his first experience in the movie “Rashid and Ragab”, after his contract with “Image Nation – Abu Dhabi”, which achieved great resonance after its screening. On the “golden screen”, and it was widely spread after it was shown on the “Netflix” platform, which encouraged him to go through a new experience of its kind, as his second movie, “The King of the Ring”, was recently shown to him in Saudi cinemas, which is an Emirati-Saudi-Egyptian movie. Common, belongs to action and wrestling movies. How did he find the reactions to the film, why did he choose a hero who is going through the acting experience for the first time, what is his story with the animation film, and will he return to the famous cartoon series “Freej” .. Many questions are asked by “Zahrat Al Khaleej” to the Emirati director in this dialogue, and the details are in the lines next:
• Recently, “The King of the Ring” was shown in Saudi cinemas. How did you find the reactions?
– I attended the premiere of the film at the last session of the Red Sea Film Festival, and I attended its special screening in Riyadh, before it was released in Saudi cinemas, and frankly, I found positive reactions to the story of the film, and its narration of a family and youth issue, about the idea of not giving up, and striving to achieve dreams. , self-development, and learning to get out of predicaments, through the story of the ambitious young man “Musab”, who is embodied by Yassin Ghazzawi, as he dreams of becoming a wrestling champion, but those around him mock his physical capabilities, while some consider him a failure in his career, including his family, And the closest people to him, but later he meets a wrestling coach and a former champion, whose role is played by the actor Muhammad Lotfi, who begins his training with the support of the coach’s sons, especially since they found in this young man the persistence and determination that qualifies him to reach his goal, amid comic paradoxes.
• When will this film be shown in cinemas, locally and in the Arab world?
– “The King of the Ring” is an Arab mix, as it is an Emirati-Saudi-Egyptian film, co-starring: Yassin Ghazzawi, Muhammad Lotfi, Shadi Alfons, Hakim Jumaa, Salma Abu Deif, Mahira Abdulaziz, Azzam Al-Nimri, Turki Al-Kreidis, Faisal Kurdi, Azzam Al-Nimri and Sanaa Bakr Younes; Therefore, it is expected to be shown in the Arab cinema market, but the decision to launch the work commercially after it was shown in Saudi Arabia remains for the producing companies, namely: “Image Nation – Abu Dhabi”, “MBC” and “Vox Cinema”.
Message to the youth
• The “King of the Ring” is considered a huge production of action and wrestling films, so what is the message contained in the work?
The film deals with a person’s struggle with his ideal, the level he is trying to reach, or the place in which he finds himself. The problem is that some people set difficult or impossible goals for themselves. Their ambition becomes a reason for breaking their personalities, and the protagonist of the story tries to change everything in his life. Musab is a young man who lacks respect for him, and faces obstacles in all aspects of his life, in addition to work and home struggles. All of this puts him in a state of loss, until he finds In wrestling, he gets his chance, which he has always dreamed of, and through which he regains the respect of others for him, by turning into a strong and successful person. The film presents a message to young people, stating that there is nothing impossible as long as a person believes in himself and is confident in his abilities.
• Yassin Ghazzawi (Musab) is going through the acting experience for the first time.. Weren’t you afraid of this experience?
On the contrary, this role was detailed to Yassin, but his fears of going through the experience appeared on him while filming the scenes, which is what I needed in the expressions of the “Musab” character, within the events of the film, and I also found that he has talent and acting capabilities that qualify him to enter The field of acting, achieving success, and presenting a touching story to movie fans.
• How was your cooperation with the actors, especially that they are from different Arab nationalities?
– We filmed “The King of the Ring” in Abu Dhabi in “Ezz Corona” in 2020, and despite the difficulty of filming during that period, we decided to implement it with full compliance with the precautionary measures followed in the Emirates, for the health and safety of everyone, and we finished filming without any injuries. In general, I got used – during my career – to deal artistically with children, youth and art giants of different nationalities, so I always feel that I am “the king of the arena”, and I can deal with everyone, and this was evident during my dealings in the film with artists from the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. I was also honored, too, to work with the two veterans: Muhammad Lotfi and Sana Younis.
• How do you see the scene of the Emirati film industry, and the Gulf film in general, and is there competition at the box office?
The equation differed from the previous one, especially with the presence of digital platforms. The main reliance of the filmmakers was on the “golden screen” and box office profits. But, currently, the film’s journey starts from the cinema, and then it is shown on various platforms, so there are films that did not make profits at the box office, but they achieved the required resonance on the platforms, and the biggest evidence of this is my first movie, “Rashid and Ragab”, which achieved great popularity and spread, After it was shown on the international “Netflix” platform. On the other hand, we must win the public’s confidence in the Gulf film, by presenting high-end works artistically and technically, especially since there are experiences of directors who tended to film films with a television camera, and these attempts could negatively affect the industry in general. But, in general, no one denies that the Emirati and Gulf films have achieved a strong presence, especially with the diversity of stories, issues and ideas, so that I also noticed that the Emirati drama, which is shown during the Ramadan season, is witnessing a great development at all levels.
Return «Freej» list
• Do you support shared artwork?
Certainly, such works contribute to the exchange of cultures, the acquisition of experiences, and learning from different schools of art.
• After “Rashid and Ragab” and “The King of the Ring”… what’s new?
– I am currently preparing to implement an animated cartoon film, not only for showing it cinematically and on digital platforms, but for it to be convertible into an electronic game, and implemented as a theatrical show. This work took me about a year and a half to prepare it and prepare the script for it, after obtaining approval From the various technical authorities to start preparing it, I will announce the rest of its details.
• From cartoon to cinema.. How did you find the transition?
– I worked in “Freej” for 5 seasons, and the famous cartoon series achieved great popularity and popularity, and when “Image Nation – Abu Dhabi” offered to contract with me, with the encouragement of the producers and directors: Ali Mustafa, Majid Al Ansari and Rami Yassin, who are considered among the most important filmmakers in the film industry. Zone, on the transition from cartoon to cinema; To implement the comedy movie “Rashid and Ragab”. It was a bold step and a great challenge for me, but with the great support I had from everyone, I was able to transfer my directorial experiences from the world of animation to the “golden screen”, and after the success of the work, I was nominated for “King of the Ring”, and I felt that I should To be up to the trust of these major production and cinematic companies, which gave me the opportunity to implement a wrestling and action movie, and this is the biggest proof of their knowledge that I have the tools and capabilities that qualify me for that.
• Weren’t you afraid of comparing “The King of the Ring” to international films, such as: “Rocky”, “Creed” and “The Fighter”?
– Technically and artistically, “The King of the Ring” is no less important than the international films that have been mentioned, despite the large difference in the budget. We have become professionally implementing many Gulf films, and we are keen – as filmmakers – on learning and self-development, and if the comparison has already been made, then this It means we’ve arrived.
• Finally.. Do you miss the series “Freej”?
– I was seriously considering returning to “Freej” again, but the idea was postponed after the death of Majid Al Falasi (one of the main heroes, and the owner of the voice of “Umm Saeed”). Since I thought about implementing “Freej”, I was fully aware that this series “will not die” and will not end. Therefore, the Return Project exists, but in a different way, as people will not see “Freej” on TV again, but its new episodes will be shown on digital platforms, so that the audience can watch it anywhere and anytime.
