Mohammed Sala so you can say I carried the ‘ Mohammed Sala ’ vision back in 1985 . EO : Let ’ s talk about Soul Plane … SB : This is was a great experience , when they called me they didn ’ t have an idea of the sort of costume I will be wearing . I went on set with my own costume and all that . They were actually surprise I can dance – I had a great time on set . EO : Would you say you enjoy working with black folks more ? SB : African-Americans have culture – a great and beautiful culture . It ’ s more fun working with black folks ; the whole atmosphere is filled with entertainment . I was the only Arab but it didn ’ t feel that way . EO : How do you feel about the Arabian stereotype , don ’ t you think you playing the role of a suicide bomber fueling the existing the stereotype of Arabs as suicide bombers ? SB : Not at all . Stereotype is part of cinema . Stereotype depicts the reality on the ground . If you want a drug dealer – you look to a black person . To change the stereotype then you need to create your own project and unfortunately the Arabs are not putting their monies in film making to change the existing stereotype . EO : What ’ s your take on how Hollywood portrays Africa ? SB : A lot of movies about Africa it ’ s actually what happens in Africa . It is easy to for us to say ‘ Look at what you ’ re doing to us ’ when it ’ s actually the reality of the day . For us to change the stereotype and narrative , we have to do our own project . EO : You ’ re someone that has been using the platform you have to
To be honest with you , it ’ s not what one will expect . The youth lost the revolution to the Muslim Brotherhood who in turn lost to the Mediterranean . encourage Arabs and Africans to invest in films . Do you think Arabs and Africans understand and appreciate film making ? SB : I think so however the politics from the Arabian region makes it difficult for film making to thrive . The only movie that might have truth in it is a Palestinian movie but the Arabs like in Egypt or Dubai won ’ t be truthful because of the politics in there . The government controls the contents and narratives that come out of there so the authenticity of the films coming from there is affected . The best movie to come out of Africa will almost be from South Africa because the people there have lots of stories to tell – they have Mandela to talk about for an example . EO : Are you doing any project in Africa at the moment ? SB : No , not currently . But if I have to , it will have to be connected to America so I can sell it . This is the problem with film makers in Africa for example . When they make a movie , they make it about themselves . You need to connect the film to America in order to make it international . You can either go and film in America or get an American actor to feature in the film . EO : What are some of your worst moments on set ? SB : That will be when my mother passed on whilst I was on set . EO : What are your philosophies in life ? SB : If you see something wrong , you have to talk about it . You need to have a passion for something – an agenda . I have a passion for films . A couple of months ago I did a movie
38 | Colossium . October 2020