Eme Nakia, the short film by Tony Hajjar of Sparta, has been selected to be part of the Los Angeles Short Film Festival and the Harlem International Film Festival.
Eme Nakia is a unique 16-minute film that Tony Hajjar along with his band Sparta will release as part of a special edition of their new album, Threes. The word “Eme” means “Mother” in Arabic, and Nakia was the name of Tony’s mother. The album and short film will be available on 10/24.
The film grew out of a desire for the band to make a movie while recording their third album. Jim Ward, frontman and guitarist for band, suggested telling the story of Hajjar’s (Sparta’s drummer) remarkable personal history: He was born in Beirut, Lebanon and at the age of 5, along with his family, fled his country during the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990.
Check out the trailer streams below to get a feel for the short film:
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/wmv/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_56.asx
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/wmv/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_300.asx
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/rm/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_56.ram
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/rm/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_300.ram
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/mov/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_160×120.mov
http://mfile.akamai.com/13482/mov/dol.download.akamai.com/13175/hollywoodrecords/emenakia/eme_nakia-trailer_320×240.mov
If this sparks your interest, check out the full Q&A with Tony of Sparta below.
When did you first get the idea for this film? It is unique for a band to release a short film with their album.
In April of 2005, when we began plotting this album, I called up Jim [Ward, lead singer of Sparta], and suggested that we do a film as we recorded our next album. As we discussed ideas, Jim noted that the most interesting film we could make would be my life story and it just snowballed from there. Right after we recorded basic tracks for the album, we shot the film in four days, and completed it not long after final mixes. Jim arranged the music for the film, combining demos from the Threes sessions and his own original score.
When you began this project back then, I’m sure you had no idea another war in Lebanon was on the horizon?
I never imagined that war would happen again so soon in Lebanon. They had already rebuilt the country, spending billions of dollars to do it, and they had finally established a democratic government just a year and a half ago. I can’t even express how much emotion I have about it. Politically, I think people need to know that my country is being used as a pawn. Its people have primarily always wanted to be democratic and westernized, but the country has been co-opted by other interests outside of Lebanese control. My country is not full of terrorists and the vast majority of the people in Lebanon don’t support Hezbollah.
The film follows a narrative that is far more personal than it is political. Was it hard to tell a story that is so heart-breaking?
Yes. I’m definitely not the type of person to sit there and openly discuss the struggles in my life with someone. The whole process involved a lot of sleepless nights… going over every detail of what might happen or what people were going to say. Every time Joe Renteria (writer/producer) and I went over stories of my childhood it became a quasi therapy session and then I would spend hours fretting that I was exposing too much or that what I was saying was going to hurt somebody in my family.
Was it hard for you personally to view the film and to watch a young actor portray you go through trauma?
I tried my best to look at it as a film at first, but that didn’t work. I would pass by the set of my mother’s room and my heart would sink immediately. When the actress playing my mother was lying in the bed, I would just go flush. Towards the end of my mother’s life, that was how I saw her everyday after school. I was told everyday that I was going to lose my best friend soon. Everybody was trying to prep me for the inevitable. I quickly formed a bond with the young actor who portrayed me. He asked me questions about my life and I hope my answers may have fueled some of the emotion he put into in the role.
The film will be released in a special edition of your new album. Are there other plans for distributing it to theaters?
Yes. We will be showing it at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival in September, and are awaiting word back from several other festivals. It may appear in short runs in a few theaters and we plan to have premieres in El Paso and Los Angeles as well.
Was there anything that you learned about your story by seeing it filmed?
My brother is portrayed in the film as a young adult. I remember talking to him about that and thinking that he was 21 at that time, but he reminded me that he was only 18, and just a kid himself. He ended up assuming all this responsibility for me, my sister… our house. I think I’d been in denial about how young he was when all that went down.
What’s been the response so far from people who have seen the movie?
My superstition led me to believe that if I let people watch the film without me in the room, they would like it more. Luckily, having to watch it with the record label execs, that spell was broken.
So far most people seemed to be moved by it and some people even tell me stories of their lives and what they went through. Many people have gone through much more tragedy than me and my family, but hopefully it will allow some to open up and let go of their pain in their past and use it as strength. After my brother viewed it, I asked him what he thought and he just sighed. Then he admitted it was scary to watch it at first, but was ultimately therapeutic. My family will be my biggest critics, so I just await nervously until they all have seen it.
Eme Nakia was written and produced by Joe Renteria, directed by Chris Holmes, co-produced by Dean Mounir, executive producer is Tony Hajjar.