Finally, her experiences in writing for television and movies were able to see the light of day. In our interview with her, the soldier seems very calm and satisfied with what she has accomplished. She learned to accept criticism with open arms, as she practiced criticism, even with its narrow limits, during her media work. At the outset, we wonder what makes a journalist who has worked in prestigious television platforms move to write drama, which, although part of the media, is a largely independent profession that requires keys, ingredients, talent and presence different from TV presentation? Is there something that can be said in drama that cannot be highlighted in visual media? She answers: “The thing that only those close to me know, is that I entered the field of media in order to devote my name as a writer. I started in the short story field with two print collections, and then worked on a novel project that was not finished yet. It was difficult to complete because it relied on living testimonies from a hundred Arab women in the world. The press took me a lot from writing, but I did not stop, but switched to writing the long text, if you will, because I wrote in the “Spotlight” series for years, but the comedy project reached places that do not resemble me, so I stopped. At that time, I suggested to my partner, Lubna Haddad, a script workshop project, in which we would try to create what we wanted from drama. Note that I never stopped writing until I had a little stock.” And she continued, “I reworked my scripts at a time when I had the opportunity to explicitly request from producers for series, especially short ones. Thus, in partnership with Lubna, I completed the script of the series “Aa Al Hadd” (“Witness” – directed by Layal Rajiha), and it is certain that writing gave me the opportunity to say what I cannot tell in the media, especially since I am an amateur narrator, and I have accumulated what enables me to formulate it with personal experience. In the form of a drama, I hope it will be attractive, coherent and have a good impact.”
In a related context, we, like many, believe that the uproar regarding the series “Aa Al Hadd” was linked to the “daring” of the main character performed by the star Sulafa Mimar, because she does not feel remorse and because she has a relationship with her friend’s husband. Knowing that there were lapses related to the justifications and motives of a main character and some other characters, in addition to an explicit output defect in many details, and perhaps the absence of the integrity of the narration in some places. However, following its release, the series achieved a high audience. What do you think of the experience from your point of view as a person who, through a long journey, has been evaluating the experiences of others or conversing with them regarding it? The soldier answers us: “Let us agree that there is no complete text. There is always a search for writing an interesting text, but so far, as a result of my work, I have not seen a series that does not involve stumbling blocks. As for the output errors, I am certainly not responsible for them. To be more liberal in answering, it must be noted that the public today does not judge rationally, as our text is not too bold, because the things we have told are the normal things that happen in our diaries. We did not dive in shocking depth. The traitor originally does not think once or more, but rather commits the act of treason and then searches for justifications. Of course, the central character has no remorse because she searched and found enough personal excuses for herself. Personally, I watched the series in a different way, and I think that this is the first Syrian championship in Lebanon for an actress and not for an actor. We tried to work on a new form of joint drama, with the female heroine being the bearer of the whole story, and I think we succeeded, with the emirate of intense interaction by the audience with the details of the work. And his characters on his personal pages. Therefore, the series succeeded and the statements we wrote that stuck in the mind, not the daring scenes, note that the work did not present any bold or abrasive scenes or outside the usual context of the television material.
The talk takes us to El Gendy’s participation in international festivals and interviews with dedicated international stars. We ask her: What did this case provide? Was she able to pave the way for a different logic and writing style for her under the pretext of building dialogues with major cinematic names around the world? The writer of “Al-Gharib” answers: “My presence in international festivals and my opportunity to meet many international film and drama makers, made me look more. Note that I do not miss watching any foreign work on international platforms, including: Hbo, “Netflix”, “Amazon”. But cinema and festivals have allowed me to see works that are not shown at all, neither on stations nor on international platforms. I was always surprised whenever I watched important work in festivals, accompanied by great disappointment, and a single question: Why can’t we do this with such transparency and simplicity?! And I will tell you the answer, because the dramatic written product, or even the cinematic product, even if it is less compared to the drama, is not an individual product attributed to the writer alone, but rather is interfered with by the capital for production and marketing considerations. Thus, costly scenes or small roles that can only be played by a professional actor and who pay a large amount can be omitted. So, as a dramatist, you will discover that there are many obstacles standing in the way of the text. I remember in one of the writing and directing workshops with the international director Peter Weber, I talked to him regarding the idea of my first short film “Mirror” (my writing and directing), a silent film that tells regarding the relationship of the individual with himself and how he can devote his love to himself. He asked me on that day why I wanted to direct it, so I answered him every time I agreed with a director, it takes the film away from the essence of the text, so I had to undergo workshops and study directing in order to complete my idea as I would like to present it. This was the suggestion of the Egyptian tape producer, Shahinaz Al-Akkad (Laguna Film Production). My desire was and still is to present things as they are, and as they are, without circumventing the story, and I do not want anyone to teach me how to tell my story. In the Arab world, there must always be some legislator in order to tell the story.”
The movie “The Black Hole” is a purely feminine tale of interest to women in all parts of the world
She asks her regarding her latest work, the series “Al-Gharib” (written by the soldier with Lubna Haddad, directed by Sophie Boutros, starring Bassam Koussa and Farah Bseiso, and produced by “Al-Sabah”), which the “Shahid” platform is supposed to show following filming is over. What can you tell us regarding the story within the limits it is available to you, especially since “Al-Sabah” is keen in its contracts to keep most of what it depicts secret? Al-Jundi answers: “In this work, we tried to translate the obsessions we had related to intensifying the story of people over the age of forty, on the condition that they are the heroes of life. The drama currently being presented focuses on a young element leading the story, so we tried to create a different case, and my project with Lubna Haddad was to present things that we did not see in an Arab. Thus, the championship went equally between Bassam Koussa and Farah Bseiso to lead the threads of the television novel from beginning to end. As for the rest of the projects that are cooking on a hot fire, the “Sky News Arabia” announcer explains: “I am working on an Egyptian movie called “101”, which belongs to the genre of “light drama” films away from comedy, and the movie “Black Hole” with Syrian director Seif Sheikh Najib, I think that in this film I talked regarding everything I want to say because it was written over five years, and it will be implemented soon, and it is a purely feminine tale of interest to women in all parts of the world. She also completed a 10-episode series with a tentative title, “The Face of the Devil,” in partnership with scriptwriter and Syrian director Fadi Selim, in writing, and it belongs to action drama. The Syrian script concludes by saying: “It is true that I wrote some experiences on my own, but I am once morest writing the drama by one writer. The more partnerships you have in the series, the greater your chance of success. Some episodes in the international drama are co-written by 22 writers. In the Arab world, everyone wants to attribute success to him due to the lack of balance among many writers. Which I think I have overcome following a long work in the media and on dedicated screens.”
