The Syrian artist, Bassem Yakhour, considered that “paralysis” in the artistic community is a positive thing, and “this means that a group is trying to complete distinguished projects.”
Yakhour said in a press conference during his honoring at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, that he was not interested in acting at first, and did not have the motivation to become an actor, adding: “My goal and interest was different, which is to study agricultural engineering following obtaining a high school diploma, but things went well.” In the opposite direction, as I was accepted first in the Faculty of Fine Arts, before applying to the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, and being accepted there.
Yakhour, who began his artistic career with comedic roles, and achieved a remarkable presence in them, indicated that coincidence, good luck, and the vision of a bold director contributed to his transition to performing other roles besides comedy, and gradually obtaining opportunities and reaching what he is now.
He said, “The director, Haitham Hakki, was credited with making me an actor, not just a comedian.” This is what is required of the artist, not to frame himself in a specific mold.
Yakhour, who appears in two works that are shown during the blessed month of Ramadan: “Kharif Omar” and “Al-Arabji”, in partnership with the artist Salloum Haddad, said: He is fortunate to work with a “colleague and professor”, and an important actor, who understands the profession in a very correct way, “presents you, and cares regarding you more than you care regarding yourself.”
And he continued: I received positive and pleasant impressions of the two works following showing the first episodes, revealing that “the upcoming events will be more beautiful and exciting.”
The Syrian actor admitted that his cinematic experiences are almost non-existent, limited to working with Haitham Hakki and a film in Egypt, “Naama Bay”, and attributed this to the reality of the cinematic movement in Syria.
And he said: “If the cinematic movement had a different shape, I would have participated, and with all due respect to the General Film Organization, the films it presents do not constitute any addition, materially or morally, wondering, where is the mass phenomenon achieved by the Syrian cinema, even in the huge productions, it did not achieve any The film of this phenomenon, so I apologized when I offered the Foundation to participate in its work.
Yakhour said that the reality of the theatrical movement in Syria is not better than the reality of cinema, and continued: If we want to wait for official support for the theatrical movement, we will wait a long time. We need funding, suitable infrastructure and qualified theatres. We only have two or three theatres, and none of them can host a theatrical performance for more than a few days.
