Anwar is a sci-fi short film where the titular character has to decide whether or not they want to become immortal with the help of the “everence” program. His father, Ali, has passed away, thereby leaving his mother, Mona, with the uphill task of convincing a child to essentially convert himself into an android. With the Earth in a state of decline, due to environmental and man-made factors, time is against this small unit. And while all of humanity races towards everlasting life, Anwar decides to seek the simple pleasures that come from the finiteness of mortality. I sat down for a virtual chat with its director, Fawaz Al-Matrouk, and had an in-depth conversation about his short film’s themes, visuals, and more.
Film Fugitives: How did you come up with the story of Anwar?
Fawaz Al-Matrouk: Anwar has been with me for a long time. I wanted to explore what happens when people who love each other have different beliefs about the world. The conflict between wanting to save them and accept them. I grew up in a religious family with a lot of deep and philosophical conversations, so these questions are real to me. When I read Tim Urban’s piece about Neuralink, I started to wonder about a world where you can transfer your mind into a synthetic body to live forever. That would become a tangible version of life after death, something you can point to without faith in the unknown. This wondering led to the image of a post-human Madonna and Child, a reverse death-bed conversion, and a Pieta where the eternal mother lets go of her aging son. The images stayed with me through a script at SFFILM, a short story at Clarion West, and eventually this short film.
FF: Your film is largely centered around mortality and immortality. Given the opportunity that the characters get, what would you choose and why?
Fawaz: We talked a lot about this on set and in pre-production. It was interesting to see how everyone responds to the question, but the film is intentional in not giving an answer. It’s a story about love transcending our differences, the beliefs are there to be a contrast, not to make a statement. I respect both decisions. For me personally? I would want to understand the technology, to make sure there is a ‘me’ being transferred into the synthetic body. Given the technology in our film, I would become an everperson. I want to travel the world and see the Earth in the morning sky somewhere. Our lifetime is too short for all the wonders we can experience.
FF: The sci-fi genre is filled with so many new ideas. Yet your film looks so unique in terms of the gadgets–the memory ball, the body repair junction, & the acorn tree house. What was the process of establishing the look & feel of those sci-fi elements?
Fawaz: Thank you. I worked closely with a concept artist, David Tenorio, to create the visual language. It was important to me that we draw from nature and religious imagery. The society we depict sees itself as the next evolution of humanity. Mona is hurt when Anwar calls her a robot, this is a slur that denies her basic humanity. So we drew from Renaissance, Medieval, and Victorian art to create a humanistic future. For example, the orb came from images of the Madonna and Child, where Christ is often depicted holding an orb to represent the world. We called it the ‘Inwardeye’ from a poem about memory by William Wordsworth. The treehouse was a happy discovery, it was a rental that my friend and fellow director Michael Koerbel sent me some years ago, and it came up as we scouted locations.
FF: That said, the car that Bramwell arrives in is very Blade Runner-esque? Was that intentional? Are there any cinematic references and Easter Eggs that we should be looking out for while watching the film?
Fawaz: The first concept was even more Blade Runner, and we intentionally steered it away from that! But yes, there are films we loved and looked at, and no doubt they influenced our thinking. Blade Runner is one. Arrival is another. There is a shot of Anwar leaving the home that resonates with a shot from Arrival. Chloe Weaver, the cinematographer, and I talked a lot about these films. I have deep respect for the work of Ridley Scott and Denis Villeneuve, and though there are no intentional Easter Eggs, there is no doubt the influence is there.
FF: What’s the story behind using William Blake’s The Echoing Green as an overarching theme throughout your film?
Fawaz: We had a lullaby that needed lyrics. The Ecchoing Green seemed a perfect fit, because it has three stanzas, like our film, and it traces themes of youth and mortality. I looked at several poems, but always came back to this one. The original script did not have a lullaby. When Kerry Bishé came on board, she suggested one to carry the emotional throughline of our story across three different ages. Leah Curtis, our composer, delivered an extraordinary song, and one of my favourite days on this film was recording it with Kerry and the three different Anwars.
FF: What was the casting process like for the three ages of Anwar and what was it like working with Leo Etemadi, Saif Haj, and Jay Abdo?
Fawaz: This was an aspect of our film that seemed impossible to achieve, before we started prep. We had to find actors who could carry the weight of our scenes and look enough like each other. It came together when Jay Abdo agreed to be part of the film. He is a legendary Syrian actor, we reached out to him through a mutual friend, and it was a dream come true when he came on board. From there, our casting director Shyree Mezick auditioned for the eight and eighteen year olds, and found two incredible actors, Leo Etemadi and Saif Haj. We rehearsed the three ages in order, and we filmed them to share as the personal memories of Anwar as he ages. I could go on about working with Leo and his mom Sharon to shape that performance, how much Kerry brought to his performance off-screen, how Saif improvised a scene to save our schedule, how beautiful it was to be with Jay and Kerry in that treehouse for the final moments. It feels like another lifetime as I think back on it.
FF: Kerry Bishe is excellent! How did you work out the process of showing Mona’s evolution without aging her?
Fawaz: Kerry Bishe is extraordinary. I’m so happy when someone celebrates her performance, because it was something to witness on set, and I felt a great responsibility to capture and honour it. In terms of process, there were a lot of conversations about the story and the arc. Why did Mona hide the truth of the world from Anwar? What made her choose that moment to tell him? What makes her want to force him into everence? What does she hope for when she visits him at the end? I think my role as a director is to inspire the artists around me to do their best work toward a common vision, and when you work with an artist like Kerry, a lot of it is just about holding the space, trusting the process, and being witness to the work.
FF: The scene between Kerry Bishe and Garland Scott is so beautiful. What was the process of fine tuning that interaction?
Fawaz: That scene is pivotal. It carries the thematic weight of our film. What does love dictate for Mona? Should she force her son into everence, so he can live forever? Or should she let him go, to live his own choices? For me, what you believe is sacred and can never be forced, and that is what Mona realizes. ‘If I force him, what happens to the part of him that said no?’ Bramwell is a contrast. He was forced into everence when he was young, because his parents died, and he had no one to protect his choice. He has to believe this was right, because otherwise it was abuse, and he would have to face that trauma. Mona’s question leaves him to wonder: ‘what happened to the part of me that said no?’ This was the conversation with Garland, and I was moved to see the emotions it brought in him, those tears were unrehearsed and unexpected.
FF: Given the opportunity, would you like to turn Anwar into a feature-length film, or are you satisfied that you’ve said what you wanted to say through this short film?
Fawaz: Anwar is a world. I have a feature version that explores the backstory. The first act is Mona and her husband Ali navigating the war with their baby son. Bramwell has a larger part in it as the antagonist, and we see his ending, which is inspired by Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. His personal narrative is shattered. I could see Anwar as a series. I even sketched it as a novel. There is a whole story about everence, and the first woman to become an everperson. There is also a story about future ever persons who want to reclaim their past and spiritual destiny. That said, the short film is complete, it said everything it needed to say.
FF: What kind of thoughts & opinions, overall, would you want audiences to walk away with after watching Anwar?
Fawaz: I don’t think of it that way. I want people to walk away with their own opinions, held more deeply, and respectful of what others believe. The film is an invitation to love beyond our differences. The questions it raises are answered in different ways in the story, and I am sure everyone in the audience will have their own answer. What I want people to walk away with is the feeling of love and loss we experience over a lifetime, from eight to eighteen to eighty, so they can bring it into their own lives and practice acceptance of the people they treasure.
