isnt it interesting?

hey! i wrote this profile about this egyptian director. i think hes an interesting guy. i thought of sharing it with you :

In a world where people usually choose to do, be, and think the same, a few forge their own way. These few add color to the world of television re-runs, identical pop songs, and cookie-cutter fashion.

They are not seen on TV not only because they stand behind the camera, but also because they are not appreciated by the masses that value commercial films. These few choose to stay independent; to be different.

In a city rich in culture, history, even the lower class misery, Tamer El-Said started his own legacy. Born in Cairo in 1972, El-Said chose to be an independent film maker.

A director for several short films and documentaries, El-Said participated in several film festivals like Aspen Short Film Festival.

For El-Said, being an independent film maker is about being sincere to himself. It is how much he sticks to his vision and not let the market affects his choices in making movies.

El-Said portrays films as human beings with souls. "You can never be happy if you lose your soul throughout the making of the film,"El-Said said.

Films allow El-Said to express his thoughts and discover his soul through film making. El-Said said, "Life is a journey of self discovery. I create movies that help me do so."

El-Said believes that we tend to talk to people who are like us; people who share our same values, thoughts, and perspective of the world. We do this because it is safer and more comfortable.

This does not help us progress since civilizations develop through clashes between different points of view.

"Laziness is in our human nature; we want to unify everything", El-Said said. "It is very arrogant to sit in the cinema and expect to get everything doing nothing." Film is a form of art; just like literature ", El-Said added.

It is a struggle between the commercial and the alternative. The alternative is anything outside the mainstream. El-Said is not against commercial films; he is just against them deleting him.

People usually go to the movies with previous expectations. If what the movie pictures differ from their expectations, they judge it being "bad", El-Said said.

People have a reference for everything; whether it is for relationships or going to the opera house. They carry their judgments from one story to another and live the same pattern over and over again.

"This reference ruins what they are living now. People should give themselves the chance to taste things openly," El-Said said.

"I deal with films with no expectations or references. I open my heart to feel new things, break the rules, and get out of the box people try to put me in", added El-Said.

"The camera is a strange piece of metal. It is like a lie detector. You can never lie to yourself or the audience," El-Said said.

Every once in a while, a film maker's inner vision succeeds with the masses, other times it does not. It is as simple as this.
"That is why artists should never believe their publicity. I got lucky with On A Monday in terms of box office, but I do not expect this to happen every single time I direct a movie," El-Said said.

The best way to live life is to be fully charge of something." The films I direct are my responsibility. I create films that are in harmony with my feelings, "El-Said said.

Ahmed Nasri, an Egyptian film critic, said, "El-Said uses his imagination to get out of what the masses are used to. He has the guts to do so. And what can I say? He always succeeds in creating magnificent pieces of art."
"El-Said has the gift of reaching the audience. He presents his creative thoughts smoothly in a way that captures the audience, "Sarah Bendy, an Egyptian film editor, said.

El-Said was awarded the Special Jury Award (2005) in Sakia Festival for Short Feature Films. On a Monday, a film about a middle aged couple discovering affection in their marriage, won the best short film in the Eleventh National Film Festival for the Egyptian Cinema, Cairo.

For some artists, the measure of success is publicity and profit-making. For more courageous artists, success is a matter of being innovative.

And let it be said that the Nile witnessed the birth of such artists in the shadows of this ancient city.