''You Will Die at 20'' cast.
CAIRO – 25 September 2019: The Seventh movie in the history of Sudan "You Will Die at 20" represented another revolution in the country's cinematic history. After 20 years of hiatus, Sudanese director Amjad Abul Alala managed to surprise us all with this strong comeback.
The movie touched our hearts and grabbed the Lion of the Future (Luigi de Laurentiis) Award for Best Debut Feature at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on September 7, becoming the first Sudanese film to win such prestigious award.
The hero and the heroine of this great movie, Mostafa Shehata and Islam Mubarak, sat down with Egypt Today to reveal everything about this great movie.
1-How were you cast to El-Mozamel role?
Moatafa: I knew the movie director from the movie auditions. My friend encouraged me to apply and it was my first audition. Before El-Mozamel, I had played only a couple of small roles. From this audition Amjad chose me to play the role. I was over the moon. The script was subject to a number of amendments but in general I didn’t see anything impossible or difficult. Then, we all started to prepare for our characters and Amjad really helped us a lot.
1- Did you study acting?
Mostafa: My bachelor has nothing to do with acting (he laughs). I studied medicine and I am now an assistant ophthalmologist. Before the movie, I had only performed some sketches on social media.
2- How did you get ready for the role?
Mostafa: I took a one-month workshop before shooting with veteran Egyptian actress Salwa Mohamed Ali. Salwa is a great acting coach and she helped us a lot. Amjad guided us a lot and was with me in every step, he advised and guided me, and he used to send me movies to watch and learn. We discussed all the details of El-Mozamel character, even his hair and outfit.
3- Tell us more about your background.
Islam Mubarak: I am a Sudanese actress. I studied drama and I work more in TV series and theatre, as there hasn't been cinema industry in Sudan for 20 years because of the previous regime until Amjad came and opened the door with "You Will Die at 20", which is my first cinematic experience. I knew Amjad by coincidence; I was in the theatre performing rehearsals for my new play and Amjad was performing auditions for the movie and I decided to participate; it was a new experience for me because, in Sudan, we are not used to the idea of auditions. I have to admit that embodying Skina in the movie was an easy mission for me, despite the fact that it might be a problem if you find the character easy. I loved Skina and lived in her life. I was Skina in front of the camera and in my personal life.
4- The film used a new cinematic language and was characterized by calm and deep dialogue. How did both of you manage to convey that on the screen? Is this your normal performance or Amjad directed both of you to act that smooth?
Islam: First, veteran Egyptian actress Salwa Mohamed Ali came to Sudan and gave us an acting workshop for 15 days. I had a good experience in TV but Mostafa and I don’t have any experience in cinema. Amjad and Salwa guided me to minimise my reactions because they were so tense. I was accustomed to theatre reactions and I worked on myself to say the dialogue smoothly. I feel like I must meet the character at a certain point; either I go to her or she comes to me.
5- What was your toughest scene?
Islam: I might surprise you. There wasn’t a scene that I considered hard or tough; I felt every scene I performed, and my only problem was to get out of Skina after we finished shooting. I wasn’t able to get rid of the impact Skina left on me.
6- Did you expect this huge success for the movie?
Islam: I was truly confident that the huge effort we exerted in this movie and the great love that united us all will bring us success. I was both happy and proud to participate in this purely Sudanese movie after 20 years of hiatus, to be part of the seventh movie in the history of Sudan, so this represented a great challenge. I literally put my soul in this movie.
7- To what extent did this movie place Sudan on the international cinema map?
Islam: The movie is a revolution and a radical change to a lot of concepts and beliefs for Sudanese people pertaining to Sufism.
9-My question to Mostafa, how did you prepare for El-Mozamel?
First of all, to be the protagonist of the seventh movie in the history of Sudan was a huge responsibility for me. I decided not to overburden myself and think it is mission impossible but rather concentrate on my role to present something distinguished, because the comeback of the Sudanese cinema after 20 years should be unique. I always say that I am lucky to have been cast for this movie; 7 is also my favourite number (he laughs). When I was chosen by Amjad to perform El-Mozamel, I was 20 years old; I am 22 now.
10- What was the hardest scene for you in the movie?
Mostafa: There wasn’t a tough scene for El-Mozamel but for Mostafa, it was very hard after every scene to get rid of the character. However, the final scene that showcased El-Mozamel's change from a person who fears death to one who loves life, and the scene of Mozamel's lover, Naima's marriage were exceptionally hard scenes. The reason behind my simple and smooth performance is Amjad, who told me that my acting performance should be natural, simple and smooth. This was my first serious acting experience, so I used to perform based on my understanding to every scene and he told me to keep on doing that.
During the workshop, great actress Salwa Mohamed Ali praised my performance and said that I was diligent student, so this gave me a great push to perform my role. Salwa was with us one month before shooting then Amjad added his touches during shooting.
I like improvisation and Amjad encouraged me to improvise. I didn’t face major difficulties in this movie because acting is my greatest passion; the only difficulty was to get rid of El Mozamel's influence on me after shooting. But, the moment I watched the movie for the first time and saw Mozamel on screen, he got out of me.
11- Do you follow the Egyptian cinema?
Mostafa: Of course. I always look up to the iconic actor Ahmed Zaki. I adore his performances. Nobody will be like him; he was an unrepeatable person.
12- How do you feel about the participation of "You will Die at 20" in El Gouna Film Festival's feature film competition?
Islam: Because of some problems in the visa, Mostafa and I couldn't travel with Amjad when the film screened in Toronto International Film Festival or when the film won the award at the Venice Film Festival. But I am so happy that the Arab premiere of the movie was in Egypt because I adore Egypt and consider it my second homeland.
I lived in Egypt for 5 years. The moment I saw the film screening here was very precious to me, because it was the first time for us to see the movie and it happened in a country that speaks the same language and shares similar emotions.
13- Who are your favourite Egyptian actors?
Islam: I adore Ghada Abdel Razek and Fardous Abdel Hamid. Sudanese people in general are so influenced with old Egyptian movies, but I haven’t watched many new Egyptian films. I wish to work with Ghada Abdel Razek.
Mostafa: Of course Ahmed Zaki, and I adore Mohamed Ramadan; they say that I look like him. I met him a few days ago and he said, "You look like me but you are even more handsome." (He laughs). He is so sweet and I wish to work with him.
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