Oscar Nomination
Jan/26/09 03:09 PM
Oscar Nomination ~
This past year I was lucky enough to have finished work on two very different but very wonderful films. One was a documentary in which I was involved for 4 years, and the other a feature film that was shot in its entirety in Jordan and gave 9 months of my life to it.
The feature film is called “Captain Abu Raed” and it is the story of everyday people intersecting across social boundaries. It is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice. A wonderful human story that has nothing to do with the politics or the situation in the middle east, but a story that can happen in any place in the world, yes, even in your own neighborhood. This film has won numerous awards including the Sundance Film Festival - World Cinema Audience Award, Dubai International Film Festival (2007) - Best Actor and may others which you can check out at this link http://www.captainaburaed.com/ .
The whole team was pretty sure this movie had a clear shot at least to an Oscar nomination, it had all the ingredients: a great story, it was beautifully shot, 23 major awards around the globe, it was the official entry of Jordan, it had to be nominated. It didn’t happen! I got an email from the director, Amin Matalqua, telling me that unfortunately the Captain was not nominated. I was shocked, I was sad, I was angry, I just couldn’t believe it, not even short listed! Who can explain how the Academy make its picks, not me. Well, it is still a wonderful piece of work and I am very sure it will do well once it starts showing around theaters.
The documentary is called “The Garden” and it “chronicles the complex and emotional story of the destruction of Los Angeles' South Central Farm. "The Garden" follows the farmers as they organize and launch an impassioned public battle to save the farm. The film documents the farmers' struggle against the city's backroom deals, and exposes the underlying issues of money, power, poverty and racial discord. The film explores the fault lines in American society, raising crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.”
“The Garden” is very special to me because I worked very closed with it for 4 years. I went down to the farm and met the people who were in the middle of this struggle. I had the chance to talk to them, ask them questions and eat their food. I felt their pain and their anger and I spent countless hours with the director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, working on the logistics of over 300 hours of tapes, on translating from Spanish to English, organizing the projects and even making tea. Even when I was hired to work on “Captain” I was working nights and weekends trying to finish work for the doc.
On the morning of January 22nd, 2009, I found out “The Garden” had been nominated for an Oscar! I was so happy that I jumped from my chair and ran downstairs, outside when I realized I was in my underwear. I had no idea where I was going but I wasn’t gonna get too far like that, I’m sure. What a sight for the old lady next door!
It has been an emotional experience, one I will never forget. All I hope is for me to be lucky many times again and find projects that are as good or better than these two. Maybe it will be my next script.
More on that later.
This past year I was lucky enough to have finished work on two very different but very wonderful films. One was a documentary in which I was involved for 4 years, and the other a feature film that was shot in its entirety in Jordan and gave 9 months of my life to it.
The feature film is called “Captain Abu Raed” and it is the story of everyday people intersecting across social boundaries. It is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice. A wonderful human story that has nothing to do with the politics or the situation in the middle east, but a story that can happen in any place in the world, yes, even in your own neighborhood. This film has won numerous awards including the Sundance Film Festival - World Cinema Audience Award, Dubai International Film Festival (2007) - Best Actor and may others which you can check out at this link http://www.captainaburaed.com/ .
The whole team was pretty sure this movie had a clear shot at least to an Oscar nomination, it had all the ingredients: a great story, it was beautifully shot, 23 major awards around the globe, it was the official entry of Jordan, it had to be nominated. It didn’t happen! I got an email from the director, Amin Matalqua, telling me that unfortunately the Captain was not nominated. I was shocked, I was sad, I was angry, I just couldn’t believe it, not even short listed! Who can explain how the Academy make its picks, not me. Well, it is still a wonderful piece of work and I am very sure it will do well once it starts showing around theaters.
The documentary is called “The Garden” and it “chronicles the complex and emotional story of the destruction of Los Angeles' South Central Farm. "The Garden" follows the farmers as they organize and launch an impassioned public battle to save the farm. The film documents the farmers' struggle against the city's backroom deals, and exposes the underlying issues of money, power, poverty and racial discord. The film explores the fault lines in American society, raising crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.”
“The Garden” is very special to me because I worked very closed with it for 4 years. I went down to the farm and met the people who were in the middle of this struggle. I had the chance to talk to them, ask them questions and eat their food. I felt their pain and their anger and I spent countless hours with the director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, working on the logistics of over 300 hours of tapes, on translating from Spanish to English, organizing the projects and even making tea. Even when I was hired to work on “Captain” I was working nights and weekends trying to finish work for the doc.
On the morning of January 22nd, 2009, I found out “The Garden” had been nominated for an Oscar! I was so happy that I jumped from my chair and ran downstairs, outside when I realized I was in my underwear. I had no idea where I was going but I wasn’t gonna get too far like that, I’m sure. What a sight for the old lady next door!
It has been an emotional experience, one I will never forget. All I hope is for me to be lucky many times again and find projects that are as good or better than these two. Maybe it will be my next script.
More on that later.