- For Samira Makhmalbaf casting non professional actors has become part of her filmmaking style. In the same way that she finds the subjects of her films from among ordinary street people she searches for the actors of her films from the heart of everyday life.
- Hello
- How are you?
- Thanks.
- You ok?
- You talk.
- Let this woman speak so I can hear her voice.
- Her husband isn’t here now.
- They’ll just take her picture and leave.
- Finding these actors is sometimes very hard. Samira takes on many trips to find them. She searches the streets, alleys and at times even homes.
- This time, to cast actors for her new film, Two Legged Horse, Samira travels to Afghanistan from Iran. From Kabul to the city of Sarpol in north Afghanistan she searched the streets of ten cities in between to find actors.
- Don’t move, stand still.
- One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
- When Samira looks for actors, besides their face and voice she searches for a particular character that may be concealed behind their facade. For Samira the spirit of the actor is more important than the face.
- But he…
- All in a row.
- He’s good too. Get up dear.
- It’ll take a long time like this.
- I am after my lead character.
- This time Samira is looking for two young boys. The first should be about 15 years old and his character must reflect that of a horse. This actor’s character is supposed to gradually transform from human to horse. As if he is a human with a spirit of a horse.
- Finally, in returning to Kabul she finds him. His main job is washing cars and he’s the head of the household to support his old parents. He has been physically and emotionally damaged by explosion shock wave and can hardly talk.
- Won’t you make up her neck?
- I did.
- Here too?
- Every where.
- Run fast.
- Come.
- Go.
- Now Samira is searching for the second actor. She thinks the second actor should be about 10 years old with a double personality. On one hand physically weak, unable to manage himself without help from others and on the other hand throughout the film he gradually should change to a character that rules over the society. Samira’s experience tells her that she should find him from among beggars. Samira believes that street beggars possess great acting ability hidden in them that can draw the attention of passers-by.
- Finally, Samira comes across a little boy with no legs in some street in north Afghanistan. He has lost both his legs in an explosion. Although he has a small figure but he well stands up to a few adults. Does he have all of what is required for this role? Samira has to audition him. First it’s his weight. Is he light enough to be lifted and carried on the shoulder by the other actor in a two month shooting period?
- Secondly, it is his voice. Does his voice leave an impression on the viewers?
- Thirdly, is this boy mad enough to perform this role? Can he get totally carried away by the character in front of the camera? This boy’s character has to range from zero to hundred. He is supposed to be so weak that he cannot live without the help of others but he should be able to go up the tree and rule others.
- To work with non professional actors the most important step is to make the right choice. If this phase is done correctly the other steps are feasible. At this stage more than anything the filmmaker has to be patient in auditioning.
- Where did you come from?
- Let go.
- I can’t.
- Why?
- Go fast.
- Not until you hit me.
- Jump.
- Hurry.
- Enough.
- Grab his mouth again.
- Bring your tongue out.
- I was a beggar. Long live myself. I came from Meymaneh to Shabarghan city. Thanks to them for finding me for this film. I am at your service. I am an actor here. I play really good. Thanks.
- The older boy has to carry a 25 kilogram boy on his back and run long distances. At first, he is unable to do it. But after two months of practice he gradually masters the task. I have learned from my father that a thin girl was carrying a huge cow on the shoulder and pulled it up the stairs of a palace every day. She started doing that since the cow was born a small calf. Every day the calf grew a little bigger and the girl a little stronger.
- This old man is Samira’s another actor. His name is Khajeh Nader. Samira had found him in 2002 while shooting ‘At Five in the Afternoon’. After ‘At Five in the Afternoon’ gained recognition around the world he played as a professional actor in the films ‘Osama’ and ‘The Kite Runner’. In this film Samira uses him again for a small part.
- All of the extras have been picked by Samira and her assistant one by one from the streets. After casting actors now it’s time to direct them.
- Don’t stand in front of the lead character.
- It’s over.
- Thank you, you were good.
- The simplest way of directing the actors is by the explaining method. She explains to the actors what she is after and they follow. This method is good for doing simple acting tasks.
- Look the horse in the eye. You must be more of a horse than the horse. Got it? So your owner won’t go get another horse.
- Samira’s other way of directing is the method of copying or imitation. Samira first performs what she wants of her actors to do then actors repeat it. This approach is especially effective when working with children and ordinary people.
- Lower your eyebrows. Free your hand. Act nervous. Look at me. Talk. Fear nothing.
- Today is total madness. We are a nervous rack. Mad. If we are mad all day we’ll get it over with. We won’t get mad other days, ok? Only madness all day, today.
- Directing however, does not end with these two methods. Now it is turn for the most difficult approach which is inducing more feelings in the actor. Samira calls this a stimulating approach. Today, this non actor boy is supposed to reach a sense of mania and then appear before the camera. At first, Samira employs the first approach or the explaining method. Then by preparation and many rehearsals on every detail prepares him for performing the role.
- You got me mad.
- Say ‘you got me mad’ and run.
- Once again.
- Ready?
- For shooting a scene of a few seconds several hours are spent on preparation. The next scenes you will see include Samira’s three approaches of explaining, imitation and stimulation methods.
- You got me mad. Sound, camera. Talk and look at me.
- Come here and say ‘you got me mad’.
- Zia! You’ll run and look and get frightened. You’ll pull your head back. He hasn’t hit you yet.
- Hey kid, go over there.
- You have to play it real. He is afraid of you. You are ready. Look and hey me. He will lead you.
- You’re driving me crazy, look at me.
- Action.
- Pull my head.
- Get up my horse.
- Pull my ear that way.
- Hey him.
- Fall to the ground.
- Got it?
- You are afraid. Don’t go forward. Hey. Head up here. Stop first. When moving forward don’t look down. Look at that boy.
- Hey him. Don’t say 'cho'. Say hey. Give him the stick.
- Cho! Cho!
- Don’t move yet. When he said ‘hey’ and pulled your bridle you’ll go.
- Go my horse.
- Hit me.
- Like Samira.
- Hands up. Hey. Once. Don’t say ‘cho’. Say hey. Hey.
- Get up one more time.
- Give some hot water. This is cold.
- Haroon. Haroon.
- When one non professional actor is encouraged the other amateur actor becomes jealous and if Samira does not immediately treat him the same way work may be halted for some hours. Experience has shown Samira that the actor that has not been encouraged finds an excuse after a few moments to quit work and becomes unwilling to continue.
- Zia. Zia.
- Go one step forward... Stop right there.
- Are they in the frame?
- Usually when the non professional actor is supposed to fall down on the ground Samira initiates to throw herself down first to make sure the ground is soft enough.
- It’s steady now. It doesn’t give energy forward. The energy is towards the ground.
- Zia let me kiss you.
- For the next scene Samira wants her actor to pant and his face to turn red of running. For that, instead of ordering the actor she runs with him and by saying the dialogue prepares him for the next shot. When Samira undertakes the same difficult task that she expects her actor to do the non professional actor becomes more willing.
- Get ready.
- Sound, camera.
- Samira attempts to take away fear of camera from her actor and sometimes she lets her actors put their eyes behind the camera to become camera friendly.
- Samira’s assistant bends the actor down so his face becomes naturally red. She asks him to yell so sign of fury appears on his face.
- You ok?
- Don’t you get a headache when you scream?
- Scream? It hurts a lot. What can I do?
- What do you say during the shoot?
- What would I say? I’d say sound, camera, action.
- Don’t you get a headache?
- It gets very painful.
- What about your throat? How?
- Today we won’t yell. The kids left. It’s only you and Haroon.
- My throat hurts too.
- When? You’ll get well. Then what are you saying?
- You too? I got like that yesterday. I’m ok now.
- Let’s go there.
- Come. This way. Hold the bucket like this.
- Samira does not like non professional actors to memorize the dialogues. She believes the result will be a fake act. Samira prefers to suggest the dialogues to them during conversation so they don’t have to memorize and say their dialogue in front of the camera as they remember and in a way they would naturally speak it.
- No, he should say, why I gave you my spider but you don’t give me the beggar girl.
- No, the girl is not bread.
- The beggar girl is mine.
- We are both partners.
- Go, you’re no longer my friend.
- Working with animals is another issue. A horse in labor is supposed to be filmed. Samira chooses a white pregnant horse and waits for the horse to give birth for a few days with her camera but the local vet says that as long as the horse feels the presence of the camera she won’t go into labor and her life becomes threatened. Samira takes the camera away so the horse can give birth first and then she returns for shooting.
- The horse gives birth to her foal. Now she is licking him clean with her tongue and teaches him to immediately stand on its own. The foal’s standing up by itself to continue his independent life takes only an hour. This process takes years for humans. Teaching a foal involves a combination of tender care and fierce treatment. Samira is helpless before nature’s magnificence. Just like a documentary filmmaker she only prepares the grounds and sits to watch nature take its course. The scenes Samira shoots here are also her stage setting (decoupage) guidelines in the next phases of shooting.
- This is a racing scene called “boz keshi”. The jockeys throw a dead calf into a ditch. Samira’s actor is also supposed to enter the race with other horses as a horse. Samira’s assistant teaches him how to imitate the movement and behavior of a horse. This scene is in fact a recreation of a cinematic scene within a documentary scene.
- Today another scene is supposed to be shot in the old bazaar of Sarpol city in north Afghanistan.
A few minute before the “bomb explosion” on Samira’s shooting
- Action… Come!
- Midway through the day a hand grenade was thrown at the filming crew that led to the injury of 6 people and killing of one horse.
- These scenes show moments before the explosion.
- My horse, I don’t like you. I’ll tell Mirvais to buy me a wheelchair.
- Don’t stop. Go, pull peoples clothes.
- Look, I am here, you must walk toward me.
- You want to beg people.
- Come this way.
- Since this non professional actress expects to perform better and she is unhappy with her acting she constantly bursts into tears. To boost her self confidence Samira constantly takes the blame on herself.
- It was my fault. Don’t cry.
- Fix her scarf.
- Well, beggars pull peoples clothes, don’t they?
- Not good.
- Don’t beggars pull people clothes?
- I made the wrong suggestion. Don’t cry.
- Don’t hide behind people. The camera has to catch you, ok?
- Good.
- Stop where you are.
- Go through the crowd.
- You won’t listen to him. You’ll just look.
- You will ask “why don’t you keep moving?”
- What are you looking at?
- As soon as he stops, ask him, why he doesn’t keep going.
- Then make him go. Then ask him what he is looking at.
- Then goad him away, ok?
- Let see what you do.
- Camera.
- Action... Come.
“The horse was killed, six people and a number of extras were injured…”
- The active presence of a female director in Afghanistan bears a lot of risks as up to few years ago Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban and still many women are trapped under the burka because of a chauvinistic culture.
- Change hands if you get tired.
- See which one of the people will pity you. Keep looking at him. Look this way and that way. Just don’t look to the ground, got it?
- After the explosion the filming crew had to options. First: cancel the project for good. In that case the bomber’s purpose would be achieved. Samira refuses to retreat. The second option is to continue filming. That has high risks for the actors and the crew. Samira chooses a third option. She takes the group to another city and recruits some people to protect and provide safety for the group.
- He is your owner. Not like that. Like this. Get frightened. Get raged. Fear. Throw the stone. Like this. Ok? Hold the stone up.
- Zia! Come let’s see how you get frightened. Is that funny? Don’t move your head back. Look at me. Look at the stone, not the ground. Ok? Go.
- Look at me my horse.
- Lower eyebrows. Mouth shut. Speak. Go.
- Turn.
- Eat a little more.
Samira & Non-professional Actors Dialogue List (English)
