“Fire with fire”… if it weren’t for the director’s interests
The Syrian writer Rami Koussa directs most of his works to the crisis reality, whether in Lebanon or in Syria. The writer did not stray from bold language in the various series that were shown to him years ago, perhaps the most prominent of which are “Masafat Aman” and “Sons of Adam”, both directed by Laith Hajjo.
Another attempt was written this year to go out into the light, in the series “Fire with Fire”. However, the fuse of this fire affected the writer himself, following the director of the work, Muhammad Abdel Aziz, confiscated the copyright. Koussa chose the director by name, to stand in front of him in a new project produced by “Cedars Art Production”. Koussa had put forward the name of the director, Laith Hajjo, but the latter apologized because of his preoccupation with “Safar Berlik” for MBC.
From the beginning, writer Rami Koussa said that the character of Imran (Abed Fahd) in the series was quoted, but the quote did not excuse him from the question regarding how a Syrian man took control of a residential neighborhood in Beirut. In fact, Koussa had made it clear, through his Facebook account, that Omran is of Syrian origin, but he has held the Lebanese nationality since 1994, following the naturalization decree that was issued that day and granted more than 120,000 citizens the Lebanese nationality. However, this was not mentioned in the series until the seventh episode, in which Imran says that he has held Lebanese citizenship since 1968.
It is certain that the scenario “Fire with Fire” was modified, and not as written by the author. An interview was published by the Syrian actress Huda Al-Shaarawy, in which she talked regarding Mohamed Abdel Aziz blowing up the papers and reformulating any series he directs. Shaarawy spoke following her work with Abdel Aziz in the series “Chicago Street”, which did not receive the required response, and was criticized by the press and the public. It seems that the story is repeated this time, as Abdel Aziz did not escape criticism in “Fire with Fire”, which spoke of a lack of experience in preserving the role assigned to him as a director.
Koussa’s poor selection of director Mohamed Abdel Aziz did not exempt him from accountability, following the criticisms that faced the work from the first episodes. Perhaps Mohamed Abdel Aziz bears responsibility for it, following he made radical amendments to the script. The director gave way to his son, Tim Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a space that clearly weakened the first episodes. The writer used to shorten the role of Baroud (the director’s son) to two scenes, but his father made more than 22 scenes for him in the first episode. The heroine, actress Karis Bashar (Maryam), did not appear until the second episode. In addition, the cutting and pasting of dialogues that writer Rami Koussa disavows on his Facebook page, which led to more restlessness from the first episode to the fifth, revitalized the events once more, and confrontations between the parties fighting over control, and the relations between the Lebanese and the Syrians, which are inexhaustible, begin. It is still thorny today, and it is not devoid of racist extremism, which pays for the roaming of Syrians in some Lebanese neighborhoods following eight o’clock in the evening.
Many questions should be asked to the director, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, who weakened his attack on the text from the latest series, and put him captive to the mood of the owner of “Tarjuman Al-Ashwaq”, following he tried to bet on his work and his interference in his first cooperation with Sadiq Al-Sabah Company, but he fell into the trap of amendments and remained silent. The writer is waiting for a final word from Rami Koussa, which will likely be at the end of the show
