“Humor is a cross-cultural dialogue for social change”—Ahmed Ahmed
Breaking with old stereotypes and serving as a hilarious eye-opener, Ahmed Ahmed, along with a fantastic team of outstanding comedians, takes us on a unique discovery journey through Dubai, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Saudia Arabia, Egypt and the U.S.
The journey´s main objective is to show the world that humor is one of the great common denominators of people from all countries and cultures and its challenge lies on the fact that this objective is pursued in the way of a stand-up comedy tour, where comedy is a relatively new art form and where, in some places, some jokes can get you into real trouble.
The documentary is so outstandingly produced and directed that it was recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, with the endorsement of the great Robert De Niro, receiving rave reviews.
Ahmed Ahmed surprises us with an intelligent, intuitive and fluid filmmaking, as he skillfully intersects appropriate old TV and cartoon clips with pieces of presidential speeches and hilarious stand-up comedy and backstage giggles with a reality that comes as “shockingly normal”.
Mixed brilliantly with the above we are also offered the opinions of people from a diversity of backgrounds and cultures and while we can recognise some widely-held misconceptions (as a result of the misinformation forced by some media), we also begin to realise how young generations are open to be challenged in their ideas as they only want to know about truth and peace.
“Just Like Us” will entrench in your heart, filling you with warmth, cracking you up with laughter and even bringing more than one tear to your eye when you finally recognise your own emotions coming from the soul of those who you have been repeatedly instructed against.
A fantastic cast of comedians accompanying Ahmed Ahmed, such as Omid Djalili, Tom Papa, Ted Alexandro, Whitney Cummings, Erik Griffin, Maz Jobrani, Eman Morgan, Sebastian Maniscalco, Angelo Tsarouchas, Sherif Azab, Tommy Davidson and Maria Shehata, among other talents, perform in this incredible tour for a total of 20,000 people at sold-out shows, proving Ahmed´s point about another widely-held misconception that Arabs have no sense of humor.
In fact, we learn that Cairo is known in the Middle East as the capitol of entertainment, being Egyptians considered the funniest thanks to their “light blood” and we also find out how the people in Beirut has made the city´s motto: “What happens in Beirut, stays in Beirut”, among other curious and fun cultural details.
And while the westernization of the Middle East is more than evident in the documentary, as we encounter a Pizza Hut just before a great pyramid or a McDonalds every other corner (something that we must confess do not find very tasteful, to say the least), we are also confronted with the real reasons behind the decision of many of the native women to wear the burkha and cannot help but understand them at a basic human level.
In a region battered by war and poverty, Ahmed and his team have accomplished the mission to demonstrate how humor is one of the most effective ways to get to the truth as well as a good tool to provide relief to those who need to rise above despair.
“Just Like Us” has also recently been shown at the annual Sydney Film Festival, confirming the fact that very different type of audiences can relate to it at the very same level.
We have the privilege to interview today the man behind this groundbreaking piece, Ahmed Ahmed.
Thank you, Ahmed, for taking the time to reply to our questions, we know you are exceptionally busy right now at the Sydney Film Festival, both with "Just Like Us" and your stand-up comedy shows there in Sydney.
1.MDM_ Ahmed, this has to be our first question: How does the concept for this project originate and when?
1. AHMED AHMED_ Just like US was originated when I was traveling to the Middle East quite a few times for shows and when I would return to the US my Americans friends would ask me if I was there performing coming shows on American military bases. I would tell them I was performing shows for Arabs and they could not believe it. So this film is a sort of 'I told you so' to the world.
2. MDM_ As you were flying towards Dubai, which do you remember were your worst fears with regards to the reception of the team in the tour?
2. AHMED AHMED_ I had no fear regarding the reception of my team. They are all professional comedians who were briefed and what they could say and could not say and did a fantastic job.
3. MDM_ Did you expect that you would be so welcomed, to the point of reaching over 20,000 attending the shows?
3. AHMED AHMED_ Yes we expected such a welcoming response since we had traveled there before and already had a proven track record.
4. MDM_ Being your family originally from Egypt you took the chance to visit the relatives that you have in there. We lived this as one of those few moments in the documentary when laughter and curiosity gave way to tearful sentiment. How did it feel for you when you stepped into those streets and hugged your family with your crew behind you?
4. AHMED AHMED_ It was an overwhelming experience since I had never taken anyone into my home village so my crew was a bit humbled.
5. MDM_ While in Dubai and in Saudi, we could see that you were preoccupied as they have quite strict policies on public entertainment, was there any particular tense moment when you thought that the tour may not had been such a great idea?
5. AHMED AHMED_ Well we were a little worried that the religious police might show up and shut us down but they never did.
6. MDM_ You have proved some major points with the successful making of this documentary and this is being acknowledged by International Film Festivals´ committees and critics but this film deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. What steps is Cross-Cultural taking in terms of distribution, are there any distributors lined-up?
6. AHMED AHMED_ We are in the process of speaking with international distributors and have secured Middle East distribution.
7. MDM_ The cast of comedians that accompanies you are all great professionals too, how do you get them to participate in this exciting but rather daunting experience?
7. AHMED AHMED_ Well it was pretty easy to get them to participate. We had a good time and everyone took away very eye opening experiences.
8. MDM_ In the documentary, we can also see a true portrayal of the hardship that the immigrant goes through in their attempt to survive and provide for their family. What would you say to the politicians that take advantage of the lack of information that most people have with regards to real causes of the financial meltdown as they design their campaigns around a hostile attitude towards immigrants?
8. AHMED AHMED_ I believe that immigration is allowing different tribes and races to become more of a global community.
9. MDM_ Please, tell us what other projects you are currently or planning to work on as a filmmaker Ahmed. Also, where and when can people catch you live in one of your superb stand-up shows?
9. AHMED AHMED_ We will be producing a follow up tour in the Middle East in November of 2010. Please refer to our websites for future details at www.ahmed-ahmed.com and www.justlikeusthemovie.com
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