The life of Khalil Gibran gets the documentary treatment
Tonight, FN Designs Studio in Dubai is screening a unique documentary on Khalil Gibran.
Titled Backstage with Khalil Gibran,
the documentary is directed and produced by the emerging filmmaker Mona
Ibellini and explores Gibran’s legacy through the cast of a London West
End play based on his life. Ibellini has presented and worked with Al
Jazeera International on programmes such as Street Food Jerusalem and Freedom Theatre as well as acclaimed documentaries such as Palestine Street.
“After
being in the media industry for many years now, an independent project
such as this was a challenge, but one that I was very passionate about
and gladly welcomed,” she says.
Ibellini and her crew of two started shooting the documentary in June when the cast of Rest Upon the Wind started rehearsing, and followed them through to dress rehearsals, finally wrapping up post-production last month.
“The biggest challenge was to decide what to keep and what to cut,” reveals Ibellini.
“There
was so much footage. We went from editing a three-hour film to
one-and-a-half hours and then finally to 40 minutes. When you are
talking about such an iconic figure, there is just so much to say, but I
wanted to keep it concise.”
While
the play recounts Gibran’s life as an Arab immigrant, the documentary
gets up-close and personal with the cast and explores Gibran as a poet
and a person.
“I really wanted to have a unique approach and I don’t think anyone has ever done a documentary on Gibran
through the eyes of a theatre production,” says Ibellini. “In
preparation for their roles, the cast had spent a large amount of time
getting to know Gibran and his work, and had become so connected with
him.
“It was interesting to get their feedback and
thoughts. I would be with them while they were onstage and while they
were backstage. When they weren’t reading through their scripts, they
would be reading Gibran. Gibran was with us all the time – onstage,
offstage and backstage. We were all learning a lot more about him than
we expected to. I didn’t know much about him before I worked on this
project and the cast has helped me along the way.”
Ibellini says that the documentary is “not just cultural but educational at the same time”.
The life of Khalil Gibran gets the documentary treatment
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