Posted in: Yemen Observer
Interviewed By: Raghda Gamal
Article Date: Jan 3, 2009
Nabeel Hezam is one of the most famous actors and theater directors on the Yemeni drama scene. He has played the leading role in a number of popular TV series, and has recently appeared as guest star in series including Keni Meni and Shar al-Balya. He has directed five public plays and more than fifty plays with children playing roles dealing with values and morals.
Yemen Observer (YO): -Through your wide experiences in the field, how do you see the state of drama and theatre in Yemen?
Nabeel Hezam(NH): -Unfortunately, the situation of Yemeni drama is very bad, largely because drama is viewed as entertainment rather than playing an educational role, a belief widely held throughout the country and across society. Therefore, Yemeni drama is growing very slowly. The general deterioration in the political, economic and social condition also plays its role in contributing to the unimportance of drama. There’s no hope for a country’s cultural to grow unless a strong political decision is made about this issue. What we see in Yemeni drama is that we can see one excellent work surrounded by a lot of low level works, something which makes me sad to say that we move one step forward and ten steps back. In my opinion, drama in the 70s and 80s was much better in both quality and quantity.
YO: -What are the obstacles facing Yemeni drama?
NH: -As I said, if the political decision to contribute to the dramatic movement is not made, there will be no development. There should be a political decision to sponsor the process, and then the private sector will take the lead. This is what happens across the world, though especially in Arab countries. Government began founding the basics of the process, and then the private sector took the lead, however unfortunately political decision in Yemen didn’t contribute to the growth of theater. Nowadays, some actors have begun to open small productions companies, and if they keep moving in this direction, then maybe there will be an improvement. I wish them successes.
YO: -So the government does not sponsor this kind of art?
NH: -The Ministry of Culture tries to promote art activities as much as they can, but the problem lies with the budget, and government funding generally only amounts to a tiny amount. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture has faced hardships in carrying out various kinds of activities. This is why I keep insisting on a political decision to help improve the situation of art in the country.
YO: - In this situations, can we say that the state of theatre is better than TV drama?
NH:- Both are in a very bad state. The state of theatre is bad, but the state of TV drama is worse. Broadcast works are reasonable, but still worse than they were in the past. There was a time when broadcast works were extraordinary, popular and loved by the audience. Nowadays, TV series in particular have very low standards.
YO: - Could scripts be the problem with Yemeni TV series?
NH:- It’s not just the script; it’s the entire working process. They began to prepare for Ramadan related series only one month before Ramadan, and this is not acceptable, why had they not started earlier??? We also faced a huge dilemma with the script, because the one who wrote it was either the director’ friend or someone didn’t work last year, so we felt we should give him a chance this year! Unfortunately, we don’t have the right standards for dramatic work, and there is no one to evaluate these kinds of sub-par series. Yemeni theatre faces the same problem, if a director wants some money; he’ll ask the ministry for a specific budget and will introduce a shallow work. Everything is all about the money.
YO: -What do you think is the solution for such problem?
NH: - (with a smile) Praying to God. Honesty, this is a complicated matter, but I hope our works will present more maturity and present a valuable massage to the audience.
YO: -What about The Losing Bet, how did the idea behind the movie emerge?
NH: -The idea started with Rozanna Company and Dr.Fadhel al-Olefi. The idea and issues concern every Yemeni family, who worry about their children lives and the most important thing to demonstrate is how some immoral actions can destroy the beautiful image of Islam. After Dr. Fadhel al-Olefi, Mohammed al-Hobaishi and Abdul-Kareem al-Ashmori finished writing the script, they proposed for me the role of the terrorist who moderate’s his views in the movie. However, I really didn’t feel myself in this role, and I asked if I could play the main terrorist character, and they kindly approved. So, I would love to send them my thanks for giving me such a chance.
YO: - You weren’t afraid of playing the role of an evil character?
NH: - I thought many times about the consequence of doing such thing, but then I remembered that if actors don’t deliver a message to their audiences, then they are worth nothing.
YO: - Although the movie got a lot of good reviews, there were those who said that the movie didn’t highlight normal religious people, and it presented all who have beards as terrorists. What do you say about that?
NH: - This is a wrong idea, because we specify the terrorists groups and present how they wear the gown of Islam to kill innocents and change the thinking of youth about the basics of Islam. All of this contributes to destroying the beautiful image of Islam. I want to stress that no one on the The Losing Bet crew sought to destroy the image of our imams; because we are Muslims we believe that they are the cause of our goodness. Therefore, we used Islamic counselors in this movie, and to those who though that we sought to destroy the image of our imams, pardon me but they have shallow thinking. Our love for Islam is what made us make this movie in the first place.
YO: -In your acting career, which work are you the most proud of?
NH: -Of course, The Losing Bet, either in terms of the subject or the professionalism.
YO: - What are your future projects?
NH: -In the coming days I have a series called Thorns and Longing, which I am making with the producer Mr. Abdul-kareem al-Mutawakel. And there are rumors about a thirty hour series about terrorism, which will shoot in India, Afghanistan, Egypt and other countries There are also rumors about a new movie, but you know it all depends on the producers.
YO: - Do you have any message you want to deliver through the Yemen Observer?
NH:- Actually I have two messages. The first is for religious people- I want them to have a greater understanding, and be sure that we can’t insult them in any way and the beards and looks don’t mean any thing. The movie was viewed by most of Yemeni society, and if we screw up, society will be the first to criticize us. The second message is for young Yemeni actors. I hope they present works showing values to help presenting our message as actors.
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