Stereotypes and preconceptions are gently nudged in a new UAE comedy which looks set to be a YouTube hit.
Released online on January 15, A Heated Interview has already picked up one significant fan, after being tweeted by Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani.
The film is the work of first time writer/director/producer Muneer Al-Busaidi, who called on the services of friends and comics to perform in this lighthearted tale of an out-of-work Arab struggling to find work in a competitive employment market.
It was filmed in 2013, over three days in Abu Dhabi, after Muneer earned a place on Image Nation’s Arab Film Studio. “I’m very, very pleased with the reaction I’ve had so far,” says Muneer, an Omani expat who works in digital marketing. “In the first few days it’s already been picked up by blogs and the like, which is exactly what I wanted.”
In the hope of catching an audience beyond the region, the film offers subtitles in 14 different languages. “The film is as much for an international audience as it is for people living in the Middle East,” adds Muneer. “There’s so many negative stereotypes about Arabs, and so many ideas in the world that pull us apart – comedy is something that brings us all together. I’d really like it to go viral – and global.”
For more on A Heated Interview visit www.aheatedinterview.com
rgarratt@thenational.ae
