Ali Mostafa Wraps Second Feature, 'From A to B'

The Emirati filmmaker discusses his new road movie, set for release later this year

Mostafa on the set of 'From A to B'
Courtesy of Seven Media
By Adam Grundey
Jun 10, 2014

Two weeks into the editing process for his second feature film, Ali Mostafa is still, he says, “experimenting.” So far, “things are coming together really nicely. It’s going good.”
From A to B is set in 2011, and is the story of three friends – Omar, Yousef and Rami – who grew up together as Arab expats in Abu Dhabi. Five years previously, they were supposed to take a road trip through Saudi, Jordan and Syria to Beirut with a fourth friend, but due to Omar’s personal circumstances, didn’t go. Their friend set off by himself and died in a bomb blast in Beirut.

“Obviously, the other guys are very upset – ‘What if we’d all gone? Maybe it wouldn’t have happened…’ – and they end up growing apart,” says Mostafa. “Then, the guy who couldn’t go the first time decides to try and convince the other two that they should do the road trip, and reach Beirut in time for his birthday, which happens to be on New Year’s Eve. So they can get together and overcome their demons.

“The idea of it sounds kind of dark,” he continues. “But it’s actually quite a beautiful human story about how these guys who grew apart go through this misadventure and understand themselves a lot more. It’s a human, uplifting, funny drama.” Much of the humor, he says, comes from the ‘odd-trio’ dynamic between responsible family man Omar, played by Syrian actor Fadi Rifaai; Westernized wannabe-DJ Yousef (who calls himself Jay and is “a bit of a ladies’ man”), played by Saudi stand-up Fahad Albutairi; and armchair revolutionary Rami (played by Egyptian actor Shadi Alfons), who’s still living with his mother, and “talks about standing your ground and being with the people, all from the comfort of his computer.”

“It’s all about how these characters find themselves, in going through different countries and cultures before they get to Beirut,” Mostafa says.

The 32-year-old filmmaker, whose well-received 2009 debut, City of Life, helped raise the profile of the U.A.E.’s fledgling movie industry, wrapped principal photography on the 26-day shoot in May. From A to B, he says, was shot on a much lower budget than City of Life, and offered him a very different experience as director. Not least because the movie is being co-produced by Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 and Image Nation. “I had execs on this film,” Mostafa explains. “With City of Life, I had no restrictions, or anyone saying, ‘You have to do this and this in a certain way.’ And I was expecting a lot more of that on A to B, knowing that I had these execs involved. But I was pleasantly surprised that they appreciated and respected and supported me in the decisions I’ve made. I was given a lot of freedom.”

The movie’s budget, and tight schedule, meant Mostafa and his crew had “the chance to be a lot more creative, because we were coming up with ideas on the spot. We really had to think about making the best film we could creatively, while not taking away from the production values.” And Mostafa believes the experience has helped him grow as a filmmaker. Although, he allows, “If I haven’t evolved over the last five years, then I should change my career.”

Mostafa says he doesn’t feel any particular pressure to replicate the success of City of Life, or to live up to his (unasked for) billing as a pioneer for U.A.E. cinema. “To me, the pressure was to actually make my second film,” he says. “The pressure’s not what people will think about it. Because it was taking me so long to get this film off the ground, that’s where the pressure was really hitting me. I didn’t want to be the guy who just made City of Life, you know? I want to be a filmmaker. So the pressure, for me, was in making sure that I actually made the film. And now that I’ve done that, it’s not in my hands anymore. Once it’s released, it’s for the audience. So, if they don’t like it, fair enough. If they do, great. We’ve done what we can to make the best film we could make.”

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