Writer-director Kudwin Ayoub was born in Iraq, but her family came to Austria as refugees when she was a baby. Now, she is 34 years old and has become well-known in the film industry as a director.
Her 2016 feature documentary Heaven! HeavenShe wrote, directed and was responsible for the photography of “! The series tells the story of Omar, the father of a family that has lived in Austria since 1991. THR’s review called the document a “fascinating intersection of domestic politics and geopolitics.”
her novel short film boomerang It premiered at the Saarbrücken Film Festival in Germany in 2019 and won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film. “Adnan is obsessed with attending his ex-wife’s housewarming party,” the plot description explains. “Unfortunately, he was not invited.”
Premiere of Ayyub’s novel feature film Sonnet (sun) has its world premiere at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival in the Encounters section, which hopes to “cultivate the aesthetically and structurally bold work of independent, innovative filmmakers.” The film centers on three female friends who decide to shoot a burqa music video “during a normal moment of madness.” Ayoub ended up winning the Best Debut Film award, which was chosen from various sections of the festival.
Sunday, her sophomore novel feature Mongolian (moon) will make its highly anticipated debut in the international competition lineup of the 77th Locarno Film Festival. Like her first feature film, the film is produced by Ulrich Seidel Film Productions from Austrian directors Ulrich Seidel and Veronica Franz, as well as the rest of the film’s team. Serve as producer and associate producer.
“Former martial artist Sarah leaves Austria to train three sisters from a wealthy Jordanian family,” the plot description on Locarno’s website states. “What initially sounds like a dream job quickly becomes unsettling: The young women are cut off from the outside world and subject to constant surveillance. They seem uninterested in the sport. So why hire Sarah?
In a director’s note on the website, Eib explains: “It’s all about sisters, no matter where they come from, and it’s about the cage, no matter where they are. The cage you want to leave and the cage you hope to get back to cage.
Ayub talked to THR About her new film, the importance of music, why she loves riling up audiences, and what’s next for her.
how exciting you bring Mongolian Going to a famous festival like Locarno?
To be honest, there is indeed a certain amount of pressure. Last week, I thought Sonnet With all this success, it suddenly dawned on me that it wasn’t normal to win such a big first-time film award at the Berlin Film Festival. When I realized this, I thought, “Oh my God, moon It must also succeed. But I have to face this pressure. I hope one day, maybe a year from now, I can say: moon Great, everything went well.
People often say the second function is hard, right?
It’s like a horror movie. Everyone says the second one is the hardest because then you have to prove if you are really a filmmaker. For the first movie, maybe you got lucky. At film festivals, they look for new people, they want to discover new people, but for a second film, they think twice.
Tell me a little bit about where you made it Mongolian And how you cast the film.
We shot mainly in Jordan. The casting process was very difficult because we went in there and wanted to cast different young women and girls. Every time we told them we wanted them in the movie, they avoided us. A lot happened. So I found out that they just came for the casting and didn’t tell their parents. When we selected them, they started talking to their parents and asked if they could be in the movie, but their parents didn’t allow it.
Is this because of this particular movie or movies in general?
No, any movie will do. Performing for girls are some of the jobs that are not considered honorable.
“Mond” (“Moon”)
Courtesy of Ulrich Seidel Film Productions
So how do you find great actors?
I found them there. Andria Tayeh is a very famous Netflix star in Jordan. she is ahead al lawabi girls school. She is also a very influential person. So when I walked down the street with her, everyone recognized her. So, when we found her, everyone wanted to be a part of it.
How did you cast Florentina Hockinger? I know she is well known in Austrian dance and performance circles, and you work in the wider cultural field. Have you known each other before?
Yes, she is also from Austria and I know she studied martial arts early on. So when I wrote this story, I knew from the beginning that she would be the main character.
I think she brought a lot of depth to the character of Sarah…
Yes, she’s fine. She is so natural and wonderful in every shoot.
Why choose Jordan? Is there a real story that happened there or in the wider area that you’d like to reference?
Jordan also has this story. I think the most famous story is about the king’s sister, who was Jordanian and married the ruler of Dubai and then went to England. But a lot of stories are happening, if you are a wealthy family, it is very common to hire a personal trainer. We have a makeup artist on our team who also spent a year in the Bay. I also want a country that appears to be truly free and wealthy but still has these problems.
I can see some of your dialogue sparking debate. Some of the things people, like Sarah’s friends, say in the movie are not politically correct. How important is it for you to have that poignancy in your dialogue?
Yes, I wanted to show white chicks out there and I needed to take that realistic approach. It has to pass through your body for you to feel it. What they say is what I tell them, but what they say is all their own. So it’s also improvisation, but I guide them and tell them, “You need to be more incorrect.” I mean, I tell them what I need to get out of the scene and how it ends and guide them. The biggest part is the casting process. When I cast actors, I try different scenes and try everything, so I make sure they are not only natural, but also smart and imaginative.
You clearly know a lot about the culture you’re writing about. How much of your own experience did you incorporate into the film?
I think the characters and parts of the movie are my own to some extent because I wrote them. I feel the same way Sarah from Austria feels sometimes. What the girls in this special family in Jordan feel, I sometimes feel the same way. The sisters and their characters in this family were inspired by my cousins.
When did you move to Austria?
I’ve been here since I was a kid, but I go to Iraq a lot. When I went to Iraq, I sometimes felt like a stranger, like the image of Sarah. So I’m in the middle of these cultures. I have both and neither. I no longer think about identity, borders or countries.
What was the thought process behind the ending of the film? How did you decide whether to have a clear ending or an open ending? [The next answer contains spoilers about the ending.]
I want to leave it like that because, realistically, that’s what it’s going to be like. If you only get a glimpse of what you see or what you think you see, you never really find out. I want to show this. For my white cultural audience, Sarah is the perfect person to identify with. I realized that a lot of privileged white people were going to see my art films, so I thought I needed Sarah to direct them. I wanted a white savior story, but told in a very realistic way that told the audience, “Help doesn’t come easy—will you still want to?”
Courtesy of Nevin Allgaier
Kudwin Ayub
Also, the other side of this cliché and stereotype are the refugees who come here and think it helps. That was my main goal: to illustrate this stereotype and show both sides by telling a story. It’s not like in the movies.
So the topic you want to explore Mongolian yes…
Like I said, this is a realistic attitude towards white saviors. It’s about violence and cages. Sarah is a cage fighter in a cage. And the girls are locked in a cage of wealth.
I wanted to ask you how you choose your music. Because music does play a key role Mongolian besides…
Music has always been very important to me. Especially with this movie, every piece of music in every scene was chosen by me for that scene. The music should add a special feeling to the scene, echoing what is going on. The last song is SM Rihanna. I think I chose this song because Sarah has chosen violence for her work, but she avoids it in reality. So I wanted to show different types of violence and how characters fight against it, for or against it.
you are done Sonnet (sun) and Mongolian (moon). Should we expect the trilogy to end? Stern (Star) or what are you going to do next?
I already have the story. I’m writing it. We hope to shoot in Jordan again, maybe in 2026. I don’t want it to end. I think it shouldn’t start with Star. Maybe there’s more. maybe Mars.
Is there anything you can share about the next story?
Very similar. This is the part about escape, but with another sign.
The sound of your films is very ironic and provocative. Where did this come from?
My life became very cynical. I think movies in general have gotten really good lately. They try to get along with everyone. I don’t like this.
I want to trigger people. Because everyone is afraid of being triggered. But I’ve been in a lot of therapy in my life, and I’ve found that you have to know why you’re triggered by something. You have to think about it, you have to live through it, you have to learn. If you see art, movies, or read books, after going through the experience you will feel like you saw yourself and thought about yourself. That’s great.
I hope people argue with each other and discuss things after watching the movie and think about how they would react in these situations because it’s an important subject. This is not a love story or comedy. Big things are happening out there, so this movie should live up to that.
I have a very dark sense of humor. I also like horror movies. I was a baby when we fled Iraq during the Gulf War. But I think when you survive war, or the trauma of war, you have this very cynical humor.
“Mond” (“Moon”)
Courtesy of Ulrich Seidel Film Productions
Your films have a strong female perspective. Do you consider yourself a feminist?
I think every woman is a feminist, right? I have no idea. I consider myself an artist first and foremost, but directing and creating these themes comes naturally to me because I am also fighting for my rights within my family. It was important for everyone to see this movie, including my family.
Is there anything else you’d like to highlight?
What I want to emphasize is that these characters in the film are special, and of course I show specific issues. But ultimately, no matter where you live, you may have to face sexism or be locked in a cage. If it’s Baghdad, Amman, Vienna or other cities. It doesn’t matter where you live or where you’re from. But the movie is set there because I also want to rile people up and show something for people to talk about.
