A passion for independent film: Rami Yasin

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Meet the Locals, we meet Rami Yasin, a filmmaker and the founder of Breakout Films

Transcript

00:00 [upbeat music]

00:02 The world in my mind was always more interesting for me

00:12 than the world outside that I was living in.

00:15 My father, who loved cinema,

00:16 introduced me to a lot of the classic cinema.

00:19 You know, when I'd see that,

00:20 I was like, you could actually translate what's in your head

00:23 and put it on a screen and people actually watch it.

00:25 I started liberal arts,

00:27 and I went to the New York Film Academy,

00:28 and I attended the Vancouver Film School.

00:31 A colleague of mine started a production company

00:33 here in Dubai, so I moved back to Dubai.

00:35 So I spent eight to nine years directing

00:37 and producing television commercials for the region.

00:40 And during that same time,

00:41 the first US studio films came to shoot in the UAE,

00:43 which was "Syriana," and I did two positions there.

00:46 It exposed me to the way that studio movies are made,

00:49 which is an incredible way to make movies,

00:51 but it wasn't for me.

00:52 It wasn't why I wanted to be in the industry.

00:55 I got the opportunity to produce an Emirati film

00:58 called "Sea Shadow," and that was an incredible experience.

01:01 And that's when I knew, I was like,

01:02 this is the cinema that I want to be doing,

01:04 the indie cinema.

01:05 You feel like you're part of the storytelling,

01:07 part of the creative development of the film.

01:09 To look at a blank page with nothing on it

01:12 and then suddenly build a world full of characters

01:16 and events, and then see that transform

01:19 into a full story and a journey,

01:21 it's like having a baby.

01:23 And that's just the first stage,

01:24 'cause normally on indie, the funding is low.

01:26 You have no idea what's gonna be thrown at you

01:28 over the course of the production.

01:30 Sometimes you're doing the job of two or three people,

01:32 but all of that stress combined with passion and love

01:35 for an incredible cause that is compelling and emotional

01:40 means something else.

01:41 And I've been lucky enough to have a number of movies

01:43 that I've worked in that have been in festivals.

01:45 "When I Saw You" was at TIFF and Merlin Ali.

01:48 "The Worthy" was at London Film Festival.

01:50 "Zenzana" was at Fantastic Fest.

01:53 And then my first venture in writing and directing

01:56 was the short in "Overtime."

01:58 World premiered at Venice International Film Festival

02:01 and then went on screen in Dubai

02:03 and won the jury mention here.

02:05 My first full-fledged feature that I wrote, produced,

02:08 directed, and acted in was "Ludline."

02:10 It was a very successful commercial venture.

02:13 And then I went back after that to producing.

02:15 I was offered an opportunity to join Image Nation

02:19 to work on "Watcher."

02:21 They selected for its world premiere competition

02:23 at Sundance, which is an incredible feat.

02:25 And it went on to be sold

02:28 and already had its theatrical release.

02:30 And then that's another different experience,

02:32 like seeing a movie in a theater

02:33 where people have actually bought tickets

02:35 to go sit down and watch it.

02:36 It's like a great honor.

02:37 And of course, many people don't know your face

02:38 and you're kind of in there walking,

02:40 feeling proud of yourself.

02:41 You know when you have that big smile on your face

02:42 and no one knows why and they think maybe he's crazy?

02:45 That's probably a filmmaker that just came out of a theater

02:47 watching one of the movies that they made.

02:49 [laughs]

02:54 ♪♪

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