DERANGED VILLAIN

Though it was Esmail’s first time acting on the big screen, he’d done television shows before, and last year, he was named one of five Arab Stars of Tomorrow.

Esmail knocked the ball out of the park with his performance of Moussa, a cruel man who didn’t have many (if any) redeeming qualities.

“He’s someone who’s completely wiped morals and human emotions from his life. He behaves like a robot, specifically when it comes to killing people,” said Esmail.

“I created a whole backstory for him in my mind, something that was unwritten, about how he got to this point. His motivation? He just wants to be the best at what he does.”

THE CAST HAD NO IDEA WHAT

THEY WERE SHOOTING HALF THE

TIME

Because the film is heavy on special effects and post-production, the actors would often do their scenes in front of blue and green screens, with minimal clues as to how it would all come together.

Palestinian actress Maisa Abdul Hadi, who plays Gulbin, said that she was amazed watching the finished project.

“Even though I was in the film and read the script, I was really surprised. I was so into it — I was even getting nervous for the characters,” she said.

Rakeen Sa’ad, the Jordanian actress who plays Eissa’s sister Maryam (and who performs a heart-stopping balancing act towards the end of the film) felt the same.

“When you watch it, it’s totally different. Our adrenaline was so high — we’d been working on it for so long, and then it’s finally out. Truly, we were amazed by it. It’s not typical to find a movie like this in the Arab world,” she said.

Mohammad added that, on set, the cast didn’t get many opportunities to watch their scenes played back from the director’s chair — a deliberate move on his brother’s behalf.

“Ali purposely didn’t want us to see ourselves. He said, ‘You do your job, just do it and don’t bother about how you look.’”