I Can’t Think Straight Director Shamim Sarif

From the writer/director Shamim Sarif come two new films of “strong female presence”, The World Unseen and I Can’t Think Straight, both theatrically released this month.

The beautiful Lisa Ray (Water, Bollywood/Hollywood) and Sheetal Sheth (Looking For Comedy in The Muslim World) star in both films.

The World Unseen is an adaptation of Shamim Sarif’s own novel and the story is inspired from an understanding of her background, of Indian and South African descent.

“In 1950’s South Africa, Apartheid is just beginning. Free-spirited Amina (Sheetal Sheth) has broken all of the rules of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid-led government, by running a café with Jacob, her “colored’ business partner. When she meets Miriam (Lisa Ray), a young traditional wife and mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her. As Amina helps Miriam’s sister-in-law to hide from the police, a chain of events is set in motion that changes both women forever… The World Unseen transports the viewer to a vibrant, colorful world that is universal in its themes.”

I Can’t Think Straight is also a story of love amidst different cultures and opposing family expectations. It is:

“An exuberant, touching romantic comedy about clashing of the two worlds and cultures. Tala, a London-based Palestinian, prepares for her elaborate wedding in Jordan when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who turns her world upside-down.”

I sat down with Shamim Sarif and spoke with her about both films. She was gracious and cheerful, and as expected from her books, very eloquent with words. She gave great insight into her hard work and visions within the films, which are produced by the company she founded with her partner Hanan Kattan, Enlightenment Productions.

ASIANCE: Can you give a little introduction of your background and how you came to direct these award-winning films?

Shamim: I was born and brought up in London and my parents and grandparents are South African, which provides the background for The World Unseen. I always loved literature and writing but I also loved film. So I started out writing short stories, and got some of those published. I also wrote a screenplay, which got optioned in Hollywood. It was a story of unrequited love, but they raised the money and wanted two sex scenes. But it’s a story of unrequited love, so how could they do that, you know? It was a choice then of where to go in my life and I set up Enlightenment Productions with my partner Hanan to try and produce our movies ourselves to obtain as much creative integrity as possible. I was then writing The World Unseen as a book and would turn it into a screenplay. So I think the screenwriting and novel writing happened simultaneously, it wasn’t one after another.

Watch the crew at Cannes in 2008

Then the leap to directing came unexpectedly. I was studying to be a director as well as taking courses in London. But I didn’t expect to have the opportunity as quick as I did with I Can’t think Straight. But I was given a chance, didn’t want to say no, and threw myself into it, a little crazily and naively, but I thought it was an opportunity. So I went into that and I loved it. It was a very steep learning curve but I really enjoyed the process of trying to figure out characterizations in a very different way than you do in a novel, bringing in actors who have their own processes and take on things. I love that kind of collaboration.

ASIANCE: What environment do you work best in?

Shamim: When I started writing The World Unseen it was pre-children. So it was a very different day from the way it is now. I think I also work better in the mornings. I am fresher in the morning and that is my time. I try to do what Hemingway described, to leave a little ink in the well so I never really finish the night before. If I felt what I had was coming to the end I would kind of stop, to have somewhere to start the next day. Often a run in the park, or grocery shopping, something mundane while subconsciously thinking about it is a way to kick-start ideas and I get ideas in the oddest places. Now I am focused on the writing but in a different way, juggling directing with writing.

The World Unseen trailer

ASIANCE: How did you face that challenge of becoming a director after being a writer?

Shamim: It’s definitely a big change. So much of directing is managing people and obviously in writing you aren’t doing any of that. You are sitting in your own private world. But I really enjoyed bringing everyone together and putting people on the same page. It’s really, really challenging. If one little thing goes wrong, if your production design is not quite right or one of the actors is not getting the emotion across or editing does not work, the music, they can all affect the movie so badly. So I tried to keep all of the plates spinning at the same time and making sure they were all as good as they could be. But boy was it different from writing.

ASIANCE: In I Can’t Think Straight there is great scenery, the colors representing the countryside of England-the beauty in Jordan-how did you obtain this artistic touch?

Shamim: I think very strongly I worked with the DP who is really great. It moves from London to Jordan, and Oxford in between. I wanted to make it clear where we were, just from the lighting. So in London although it is summertime, I tried to keep it overcast, that cool, pale light that seems particularly British. In Jordan it was that hot sunlight. You just kind of felt it. So everything was a conscious effort. We shot on 35 mm which wasn’t really something we could do on that budget but we found a creative way to do it, which was bring in a camera and crew from India.

ASIANCE: The love scenes between the two actresses pushed envelopes. How did you film that?

Shamim: When we were shooting those love scenes my main priority was to make sure they were comfortable. Because here we’ve got an inherent awkward situation where there are two people who don’t actually love each other who are in bed together, with a bunch of people watching them. So you are set up for an awkward situation. We had a little fun with it. We made jokes. We made sure it was all women on the set except for the DP who was an honorary girl at the moment, a very sweet guy, and I tried to focus them on what the scene was about emotionally. Because as actors they had really solid work there it was not about put your hand there, kiss there, do that, it was about finding emotional balance. I told them what I was trying to achieve.

ASIANCE: Was there a reason for no nudity in the love scenes?

Shamim: It’s just not that kind of film. I don’t have a problem with nudity or any of that kind of stuff. But it’s a romantic comedy and I think that had a kind of grittiness and overly sexiness would not work in that scene. It did not need full nudity in my opinion. I think anticipation can be more sexy and we gave the actress good underwear, so! (laughter)

Movie posters

ASIANCE: What other ways did you film your unique vision, pushing the envelope or else in “conventional” ways?

Shamim: There were two things that influenced the directing world of I Can’t Think Straight. We tried to keep the camera moving as much as possible and also moving without intruding too much in the story, For example the coming out scene for Leila, her performance was so good so we wanted to keep the moment still and give her that due, that power. When it came to the love scenes, for example, I was more aggressive with the love scene, so we are by the door and the next moment fumbling for the bed, everything moving very slowly. It was more of an artifice I wanted to create. So it varied, the tactics, they often worked intrusively.

ASIANCE: How did you begin to work with the talented Lisa Ray?

Shamim: We met her a long time ago for World Unseen when we were first setting up that movie. My partner Hanan met with her. And then I did Can’t Think Straight and I was trying to cast Arab actresses but couldn’t’ find any who would do the love scene. And I saw Water and I said to Hanan, “you think you could get me a meeting with Lisa Ray” and she flew right over. When we read together I think we just connected on the most basic level. We connected as people, sharing the same values and became friends. More importantly we work the same way creatively, the way we build characters so it was an absolute pleasure to work with her and I knew I wanted to work with her again in The World Unseen. Her work there for me is, I think, the best work she has done. Stunning work.

ASIANCE: The families of these two cultures must learn to accept their daughter’s decisions. Do you think there would also be struggle in real life?

Shamim: Yeah, I think there would be inevitably. I don’t want to get too heavily into that because the focus of the film is lighthearted but I think both of these cultures have biases against same-sex relationships but I think they love each other and it can work out. And there is a bit of an autobiographical streak in the film and I can tell you they got over it! (laughter)

SIANCE: Will people soon begin to see more beauty of Asian/Middle Eastern descent onscreen?

Shamim: I hope so, I think it’s happening a little bit, slowly I see more Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian actress. I like that actresses like Sheetal Seth can try out for a role without being labeled… I also hope people can see this kind of film just as a love story that anyone can enjoy.

ASIANCE: When do the films open? What is your next project?

Shamim: They are both opening theatrically here in New York this month! The World Unseen opens November 7th and I Can’t Think Straight the 21st of November. And I am finishing I Can’t Think Straight the book which will be out on Amazon.com. I am starting to work on my next film based on my book Despite The Falling Snow, set in Communist Russia. It is a story of passion and betrayal, in a very epic love story, but between a man and a woman this time. I guess people consider it more mainstream, I just consider it a great story!

www.icantthinkstraightfilm.com

www.theworldunseenfilm.com