The best experience of my life

Last year in July i lived one of the best experiences in my life. It wasn't a vacation nor was it a love relationship. I was a participant in the University of Southern California (USC) digital film-making workshop organized by the royal film commission.

The workshop lasted for one month and i have to tell you that i took an unpaid vacation just to be able to do it. I couldn't believe it when my boss said that its ok for me to take the vacation and for that God bless you Mones.

My interest in movies has been there forever and just last year i realized that i don't need to stay the receiver anymore, i can be the creator. In that acknowledgment lies a massive power that i realized later. Our interest in movies originates from the human interest in stories and cinema is just the medium. And As McKee puts it, "the art of story is the dominant cultural force in the world, and film is its dominant medium".

In my application i remember that i wrote "I feel that I have creative potential that is not being fulfilled by my current work. I have this urge to create and to be part of the film-making process. I will put my life on hold just to be part of this experience. This is the first step on the road of realizing my dream".

They asked me what my favourite movies are and why. This is what i wrote.

A beautiful mind, The bridges of Madison County, City of Angels, Back to the future and The pursuit of happiness.

I love the movies that provoke true emotion in the viewer and I truly felt that while I watched each of the movies above. I was shocked when I discovered that John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind" was hallucinating that he is working for The Department of Defense. I was totally engaged in Francesca's dilemma to leave with her lover or to stay with her family in "The Bridges of Madison County" and I could understand Seth's sacrifice of eternity just to be with the love of his life in "City of Angels". These are not just movies, these are characters that became part of my experience as a human being and they entered in my paradigm as a whole.

The workshop was conducted in this old building in first circle, just beside the coffee shop Old View. I just love 1st circle and it was like i was entering this different zone when i got there every morning. The numbers world lies in my workplace in Shmeisani while the world of magic is here in the 1st circle.

I love to sleep and everyday as my alarm rings i feel a strong inclination to stay asleep just a little bit more but in that month in July i didn't want to sleep. I woke up so early to arrive on time. They told us that the movie business is all about commitment and punctuality. Time is money and you have to be responsible just like you were on a set. I got this massive energy to do the million things that i was doing and my happiness was limitless.

In the workshop we learned more about writing scripts by actually writing. Its amazing what you can accomplish by overcoming your fears and just doing it. Julie the writing instructor used to tell all of us to stand and shout "I failed" just so that we can accept the fact that failure is part of the process.

I learned what that the director doesn't do everything. I learned about the roles of the producer , cinematographer, editor, grip, gaffer etc..

I learned what a wide shot, a medium shot and a close-up are and i learned to never never ever zoom into the actors face the way Egyptian movies do.

Most important of all i met people who shared my love for the industry and i became one of them. At the beginning i remember i felt self-conscious that i had no film experience when most of the participants either studied theater, made movies in the past or worked in animation. I felt like i didn't belong, i was this financial person and everyone wondered why. Why was i interested in this totally unrelated field. Why i took unpaid vacation just to be here and why i wanted this at all. In my heart i knew that i wanted this so bad, this was the dream that came true. This made me so happy that i was bursting with energy. This is my passion.

Film-making is no easy business, its more work that my previous audit job at Arthur Anderson, which is the maximum work there is. Shooting one scene can take a day. There are always surprises and you never know how smooth things will flow but you prepare and hope for the best. I have to say that this is the best work I've ever done. It didn't matter to me when i got burned by the blazing sun near Wild Jordan as i was directing my first scene. It didn't matter that actors messed up the lines and had to repeat several times. It didn't matter that cars kept passing and interrupted the shoot a million times. All that didn't matter because i was doing something i loved. Creating a project of mine and working with a great team.

Finally i wanna say that the amazing thing about film is the creative power to communicate messages that can reach the whole world. Movies make a difference in how people perceive life and they reach us better than any news report on CNN or Aljazeera can. I'm glad that now i can be part of the process to change the world. Movies live beyond our time on earth they are immortal and everyone loves to leave a legacy.