2023-10-24 22:05:04
The Emirati creative and media figure, Jamal Matar, described his selection as theatrical Personality of the Year in the 14th session of the Dubai Youth Theater Festival as the most important honorary award he received in his life, adding during an evening organized the day before yesterday at the Culture and Science Symposium in Dubai, that he is turning today to the novel, believing that Rich ideas capable of presenting a story, interpretation, and raising questions are all that he is looking for, as he moved away from writing and directing theater during this period.
At the beginning of his speech, Jamal Matar praised the approach of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) in honoring creators in various fields, whether theater, music, or others, and the importance of honoring all those who left their marks and achievements. Regarding his beginning and the works that marked the beginning of his career as a theater director and author, including “Jamila,” he said that this work was exceptional, and carried scenes that seemed cinematic, and many challenges, as it was presented in the open air and on unpaved roads, and yet he presented approximately 29 performances.
Regarding his relationship with the poetry of Abu al-Tayeb al-Mutanabbi, especially since he published a book regarding him, he explained: “I did not benefit from my relationship with al-Mutanabbi in the theater except through language and his poetry, and the book that I presented regarding him came to express my relationship with his poetry and the love and estrangement between me and him. Sometimes I engage in a dialogue between me and him… an existing dialogue.” “On extreme reproach and intense love as well.”
Matar also reviewed his media experience during the evening, pointing out the important dialogues he conducted, including with the poet Ahmed Shafiq Kamel, the author of the song “You Are My Life” by Umm Kulthum, and other prominent figures, such as Mansour Rahbani, Saeed Saleh, Laila Alawi, and Youssef Shaaban.
Matar turned to the novel, and published more than one work, such as “Spring of the Jungle,” which was longlisted in the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. He noted that he benefited from theater in the novel, especially since whoever reads the novel finds the spirit of theater and cinema in it, especially in “Spring of the Forest,” in addition to the state of poetry and the influence of Al-Mutanabbi.
He pointed out that there were critics who wrote many positive things regarding that work, as an Egyptian critic described it as a novel that seemed to be written to the sound of the flute, and heralded symbolic literature in the Emirates.
He stressed that he did not turn to the novel because of the depletion of his theatrical talent, but on the contrary, because the novel is the biggest problem, as many hands intervene in theater, from the director to the author, while the novel’s creator bears full responsibility.
He believed that his novel “Spring of the Jungle” might be turned into a play or an animated film that would be released from the Emirates to the world, as the novel carries a lot of symbolism and the ability to be shaped.
He considered that the main problem of writing lies in the absence of a story, and this is what films do that reproduce a series of stories with language decorations without the presence of a real story, and this is a problem that writers who replace the story with linguistic decoration fall into.
Jamal Matar:
• I did not turn to the novel because my theatrical eye was exhausted, but on the contrary, because the novel was the biggest problem.
• I am happy with the conversations I conducted with prominent figures, such as the author of “You Are My Life,” Mansour Rahbani, and Youssef Shaaban.
Trail companions’ testimony
Jamal Matar’s evening witnessed many interventions from actors and directors, including Naji Al-Hai, Hassan Youssef Al-Balushi, and Marai Al-Halyan.
The contributors confirmed Jamal Matar’s support for them in their theatrical beginnings, by training them in improvisation.
Artist Marai Al-Halyan said: “When an actor begins his life, he needs courage to face the audience, and the art of committed improvisation, and I learned them with Jamal Matar in the play (Jamila), as he presented me with the role of the narrator who faces the audience and is written in two lines, and asked me to develop it through improvisation.”
He added, “I am grateful for this experience. If the actor Marai Al-Halyan is found in the Emirates, then one of the founders of this actor is Jamal Matar.”
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