My First Movie

It's midnight here in Jordan. In less than five hours the production van will come and pick me up to go to our first day of shooting. Our first day of filming Captain Abu Raed. I don't know if my excitement will allow me to get any sleep tonight. I've been working towards this moment intensely for the past four years. And here were are. A crew of 60 people, a cast of 40, and some 300 or more extras. We're making Captain Abu Raed.

I've spent the past week rehearsing and exploring the material with the incredible actors with us. From the amazing wise man, Nadim Sawalha to the stunning beauty, Rana Sultan, to the incredibly raw kids and all the supporting cast members who have committed to the characters with a passion to explore who these people are, where they come from, how their relationships develop, and what drives them to take the actions they take.

I feel that we are going to create something very very unique and special. I pray and hope that everything goes as planned. We are the first film shooting on the Arri D20 Camera in 4:4:4 mode. We are using the best film lenses in the world, have an amazing cast and crew, great locations, and a story I've sweat my heart into.

In a few hours this dream will begin to become real. We're getting a lot of behind the scenes video footage, but have not edited anything for the video journals yet.
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The kids of Captain Abu Raed

Abu Raed arrives

I've been in Amman for a month now. We've been running around the city every day since March 30th. I am quite tired tonight, but my excitement is difficult to express with words. Our sets are being built by our awesome construction team. Our cast of 40 people is almost complete. Our locations are selected.

...And tonight, our star, Nadim Sawalha, arrived from London. Abu Raed is here.