Leila Abbas on making a comedy about sharia

Throughout film history, comedy has long proven to be fertile ground for filmmakers exploring sensitive topics. With the song “Thank you for banking with us!”, played as part of the “Meet Your Neighbors” competition at Thessaloniki Film FestivalPalestinian director Leila Abbas approaches Islamic Sharia law through the story of two sisters racing against time to secure their father’s inheritance.

According to Islamic Sharia law, men are entitled to twice the inheritance of women upon the death of a relative – if a man has no sons, uncles and cousins ​​take precedence over daughters. In Abbas’s third feature, sisters Noura (Yasmine Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) must resort to cunning to ensure that their absent brother does not benefit from the demise of the father he has not seen for years, while they both continue need financially. struggle.

“I’m not afraid to talk about it,” Abbas said. VarietyWhen asked if she felt any trepidation when broaching the topic of inheritance law. “I thought about every detail: How can I present this story in a way that will engage people in conversation without immediately alienating them? If I had taken a different approach, it might have been offensive and I would have alienated most of my audience.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Abbas continued, “being radical can be very powerful, but I felt like the light tone of the film didn’t allow for that. I wanted to attract as many people as possible so that they could watch the film to the end and imagine themselves in the sisters’ shoes.”

Despite criticizing her country’s patriarchal structure, Abbas is quick to stress that she doesn’t want anyone to watch the film and think she’s “out to criticize my people as if the West is a role model.” “I’m very critical of the West and I love my country, so I made this film to have a conversation between us and our society about who we aspire to be and how we need to change into something like us.”

Abbas first made his presence known in 2013 with the release of Ice and Dust, a documentary about a young Palestinian woman seeking a better life in Canada. For her second film, the director chose a comedy in hopes of portraying an authentic Palestinian story that is not rooted in loss or tragedy. This was, of course, before the terrorist attacks of October 7, which triggered the ongoing escalation of conflict in the region.

“I present a film that I think is funny to festivals all over the world, and it’s very difficult because I feel like I need to talk about what’s going on in the world right now,” the director said. “How do I make it work with the tonal dichotomy? It’s mentally difficult for me, and I feel that we need to present the film and say that we shot it before the war. I’m not ashamed to tell a story that doesn’t involve war, but there’s something much more important going on now than my film, and I need to talk about it.”

The director is proud of her portrayal of Palestinians and life in Palestine in Thank You for Working with Us!, and highlights the work of her team of costume and production designers who worked tirelessly to create tangible spaces and characters. “I wanted the film to depict real families, real homes, things that don’t seem strange or fake to those who know what it’s like to live in Palestine.”

“We went to a lot of houses and it’s not easy at home because we don’t have a film culture and people aren’t used to filming in their homes. People will say yes, and then be horrified when dozens of people show up in their apartments. One of our biggest problems is that we agreed with a local bank to film at their branch, signed contracts, and two days before filming they called us and told us that their legal team had concerns and they were refusing.”

Solution? Rush to a nearby university and recreate the bank in their shared spaces. “Filming in Palestine is not easy, but we got creative. We were scared, of course, but in the end everything worked out.”

When discussing what she would like audiences to take away from the film, Abbas is quick to say that she wants viewers to “also get a glimpse into our lives, with all of its complexity and beauty. I wanted to devote 95 minutes entirely to Palestine. There’s so much invading our screens right now, and I wanted to make a film where the Palestinians shine.”