Please share an outline of the production?
The Visual Feminist Manifesto by Farida Baqi follows the life of a woman from birth to adulthood in an unnamed Arab city, questioning the oppressive confines of patriarchy and the expectations imposed by society on young women. Due to budget and political constraints, we were only able to shoot parts of the story in actual Beirut, Lebanon, accompanied by a constructed indoor set in Berlin and a shoot in Sicily near the sea. Since the film also uses quite a lot of footage from older Egyptian movies, anime, as well as animation and news excerpts, it proved to be a more complex production than I had initially assumed, with the Sicily shoot happening after almost a year-long hiatus.
Why was it so important to tell this story? How different was the production from previous projects?
I think director Farida Baqi crafted a story that not only women can relate to, but almost anyone who has experienced discrimination or marginalisation in some way. In today’s world, stories that transcend cultural boundaries and evoke universal emotions—whether joy, grief, or defiance—carry an undeniable relevance.
Very different from previous projects I had done, this script consisted of an entirely voice-over narration that leads through the different chapters. Reading the script the first time really moved me; you could feel Farida’s care for her vision and character throughout, as well as the personally lived experience of many moments that I found myself relating to as well. The production process was different too, in that we had more of a lyrical manifesto as the base of the film instead of written dialogue, which is still reflected in the chapter-like structure of the final feature.
How did the director articulate what they were looking for?
It was my first collaboration with Farida, but a very special one from the beginning. Farida took great responsibility with the story and the potential look and feel of every scene. We started the pre-production process by having long conversations about both her life experiences and the general realities of women within these societal structures. Farida immediately had a clear point of departure regarding the visual language of the film, which made it a wonderful experience to work with someone whose ideas were so well developed, both literally and cinematically. We spent a lot of time talking about films we both admired, as well as revisiting old Egyptian films from the 1950s and 1960s, like La Anam by Salah Abu Seif and Tolba Radwan, for inspiration. I loved having the opportunity to discuss the look and feel of each scene in such detail, which, in hindsight, helped us immensely during the very tight shooting days, as we both knew exactly what we wanted from each moment.
How did you decide upon the visual language?
Farida and I decided early on to shoot a main part of the film in a 4:3 aspect ratio, as we really wanted to focus on our main character and her journey. This felt like the right choice—not only to create intimate portraits of the character, but also to use the squareness of the frame to convey the constraints and feelings of being trapped the women experience. I liked the idea of seeing our main actress as she sees a big part of her world, boxed in, with the wider world only existing at the edges of the frame and with a limited perspective.
It was an interesting journey overall, as the film consists of a lot of different formats, including animations, old photographs, news footage, and different ratios, with the film expanding to 16:9 again in the final scene by the sea. After many conversations with Farida, we both realized we wanted to find a way to maintain a certain clarity throughout the film, while also striking a balance between the often heavy and oppressive topics and the spaces the character moves through during the course of the film. Another question was how to visualize the confinement of the women we were portraying, as well as their inner world while still keeping a strong sense of naturality to the scenes. I drew some inspiration from the naturalism of Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, and some of Nan Goldin’s photographs, among others.
As for tonality, for the Berlin part of the shoot which consisted mainly of the constructed clinic set and a wedding night bedroom set, I opted for a colder, static approach with a mostly locked-off camera to mirror the oppressive situations the character finds herself in.
How did you go about devising the shot list?
For our studio Berlin part, we were able to plan quite meticulously beforehand comparing a lot of references and also had the advantage that we were shooting in a constructed set. In Beirut, the situation proved to be much more challenging, as I couldn´t really scout beforehand and we had to adapt to last minute location changes which resulted in some cases of late night shot listing back at our hotel! It was a good lesson in trusting your instincts as well on the day and adapting to environments you can’t fully control.
What cameras and lenses did you use and why? Who supplied them?
For the Berlin shoot, we were wonderfully supported by Camelot Rental Berlin with an Arri Amira and some Canon FDs TLS Rehoused. I was originally thinking about K35s, but decided in the end to use the Canon FDs, being more affordable with our limited budget, while still employing a similar look of soft contrasts, and ended up really loving the characteristics it brought to our scenes! As I had never shot in Lebanon before, I went to ask for advice in my DoP circles for recommended rental places and ended up going to Media Square Beirut, who did a great job supporting me with all technical needs and also provided me with an outstanding local crew. As we were switching from black and white to color and a slightly different feel in Beirut, I opted for a combination of Arri Alexa Mini and the trusted Cooke S4 with some light Glimmer Glass filtration. For the parts shot in Lebanon, the Cooke S4 felt like the right choice with their warm color rendition and ability to paint skin tones with exceptional accuracy and warmth, making them ideal for capturing the portraits and close-up shots of our actress in the often confined rooms.
How did you go about devising the lighting schemes and what fixtures did you use and why?
Again, this proved to be quite a different approach in Berlin compared to Beirut! For our constructed set in Berlin, we used a Carpet Light 88 as a large soft overhead source, along with a mixed approach of Tungsten and LED since we were shooting in black and white.
In Lebanon, I relied heavily on the use of CRLS reflectors. Being quite constrained in terms of locations and accessibility, they proved to be invaluable tools for shaping and redirecting existing light, as well as giving us more distance and flexibility in otherwise tight spaces. A lot of the Beirut scenes play out in the same bedroom, so I had to come up with a variety of different lighting schemes to differentiate the times of day and mood. We got very lucky with that location, as the room already had heavy, warm golden curtains in place that helped a lot in creating the atmosphere we were aiming for.
Together with my gaffer, George Waked, who did an incredible job, we used a mix of HMIs and CRLS outside to push light through the curtains and worked a lot with practicals inside, along with some Astera tubes and Litemats. The benefit of filming in 4:3 was that we could make much better use of the small rooms we were filming in and bring in the lights and light modifiers right up to the edge of the frame. I aimed to create a sense of the rooms as preserved time capsules, where the passage of time feels suspended and life appears to stand still, while still allowing the right amount of light to come in and avoiding a look that was too dark or dramatic.
Did you have to create any custom camera and lighting rigs?
We actually did have to create one custom lighting rig for one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie. Our lead actress returns home after a forbidden night out, despite the curfew, and enters the living room to face the collective shaming of her family. The entire scene is played out in a single shot, with Amal standing in the doorway. The idea was to have a mixture of two colors of light circling faster and faster on her face, embodying the heightened sense of distress and feeling of almost violence being inflicted on her. A reference for this was the famous Romy Schneider scene from Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno (L’Enfer).
To achieve this effect, we had to create a circular rig with lights on opposite sides that could be smoothly spun. I remember arriving in Lebanon without a clear solution in mind, but knowing we’d need to come up with a bit of a DIY solution due to budget constraints. Thankfully, my fantastic local grip team managed to build a rig that worked quite well and could be manually operated to spin faster and faster.
What challenges did you encounter when shooting the project and how did you overcome those?
One personal challenge, but a very rewarding one, was working with an entirely voice-over script and no actual dialogue on screen throughout the movie. It required me to rethink some of my usual methods, which was refreshing in unexpected ways! It helped that our lead actress Amal el-Hani was incredibly talented in conveying subtle changes in facial expressions without any spoken dialogue, and I was very fortunate to work with her.
The shoot in Beirut proved to be our most challenging part, mainly because we didn’t have enough shooting days in hindsight, nor were we able to plan our schedule as much as we would have liked. Many locations were only secured the evening before. For me, the biggest factor in overcoming these challenges was the team effort of everyone involved. We were extremely fortunate with our crew—everyone was incredibly dedicated to their craft and quick to adapt to changes. I especially want to highlight my camera department, with 1st AC Elyssa El Khoury and 2nd AC Hatem Chayna, who always had my back!
How did you decide upon the colour palette and LUTs?
Through the references Farida and I shared early on in the process, I had a pretty good idea of the color palette and the atmosphere she was aiming for. We always discussed a naturalistic approach, finding a balance between the heaviness of some of the themes in the film while not exaggerating that too much in the color palette. For Lebanon, we worked a lot with the rooms and spaces as they were, subtly enhancing that warmness in the dark oranges and browns, while being careful not to let things become too muddy.
Was there much in way of changes in the DI and which colourist were you working with?
I worked with Nadia Khairat as my colourist, who is incredibly dedicated to her craft and did an amazing job finding the balance for our film—keeping things naturalistic while still enhancing the feel and look of the spaces. The film was definitely quite challenging to tie together colour-wise, with its mix of old film footage, photographs, and animations, but Nadia managed to execute it beautifully.
Is there a particular shot or sequence you are most proud of?
I think the scene I’m most proud of is the bathroom sequence, which is the first time we really get close to the main character, played by Amal el-Hani. She’s showering and waxing, repeating these sort of mundane rituals that at the same time carry so much weight in terms of imposed societal views on body image and expectations. It was a very intimate scene, with just Amal and me in the bathroom, shooting handheld. Amal did incredible work in the subtle changes of her facial expressions during those moments, and it felt very special to be part of that. I think it still works very well in the final movie!
What lessons did this production teach you?
This has been said before, but it still holds true—that there is a lot of value in certain limitations as well. Being quite the indie-budget feature, we often had to think outside the box and really trust our instincts while still holding on to the visual language. Some of the moments that came out of these limitations are now my favorite ones in the film, as you become more creative and often simplify your approach.
Do you have anything to add?
I would just like to thank everyone who worked on this! I feel very grateful and thankful to have worked with such an amazing cast and crew. I’m also very excited for the film’s premiere at IFFR this February and look forward to seeing and hearing people’s reactions to the film.
