A SCRIPTWRITER OF WOMEN

Actress and scriptwriter Tahmina Rafaella Cabrail knows what she wants from life and is not afraid to pursue her ambition. "To be truly happy, you need to find your true purpose, be able to realize your dreams and cultivate a strong personality ready to swim against the stream," she says, adding that this especially concerns women. After all, it is women that raise the next generation and create a solid foundation for the entire nation. The Inner City [original title Icari Sahar], a new feature film by Ilqar Safat based on the script by Tahmina Rafaella, is just about that. The first run of the film showing how the mind is struggling with feelings recently took place in the Nizami cinema centre.

- Tahmina, you live and work in the United States. Please tell us how you ended up in this country that is so distant from Azerbaijan?

- I went there in pursuit of my dream, as I wanted to be an actress from childhood. Back then, however, I did not know that this was not a hobby but a serious work. When I was 15, I told myself that I would make my career in this profession. At that time, I was studying in Switzerland. One day, the teacher announced that famous Hollywood actor Billy Zane, who played in the epic film Titanic, would conduct a master class in our school. I gladly attended his master class as I was interested to learn about the acting profession first-hand. He told us many interesting things about his work and answered all our questions. I think this meeting was a life-changing event that spurred my decision to learn acting skills. When I returned home to Baku, I told my parents at once that I intended to go to the United States to study acting. At first, my mother and father were strongly against this idea. Who ever heard of an underage girl going to a foreign country to live on her own? You must admit that for us, the Azerbaijanis, who live in accordance with our own unwritten rules and canons of society, it was quite a daring thing to do. I took me a long time to persuade my parents to agree and let me go overseas. However, they made me promise that I would get a higher education no matter what. That's how I, a 17-year girl, came to Los Angeles, where I matriculated at Pepperdine University for the Film Studies and Creative Writing course. At the same time, I was taking acting classes in Los Angeles.

- Was it then that the story of young girl Arzu who fell in love with a man old enough to be her father came into being? Tell us how you wrote the script for the Inner City.

- Yes, it was. I have always wanted to write about young Azerbaijani women who are trying to resist the public opinion and live in spite of the canons of society. East and West have miraculously united in Azerbaijan. We are striving for a Western way of life, free from prejudice, but at the same time we fear the condemnation from those around us. We live in a society that places a taboo on everything which, in their opinion, goes beyond the bounds of decency. Society dictates to people what is "good" and what is "bad". According to such canons, the woman is denied many things. She must unquestioningly obey her father and brother at first, and then her husband. She should not have her own thoughts and desires. And if she dares to go against the unwritten rules and break a taboo, she will be condemned and her wings will be clipped. When I wrote the script for the Inner City, I wanted to show how important it is to follow one's heart and how difficult it is to be a black sheep that is so different from the others.

- And yet, the end of the movie Inner City is far from being optimistic. Arzu parted with her beloved for the sake of public opinion. Does it mean that society prevails over love and dreams?

- Not at all. Arzu loves her mother very much despite the fact that they are completely different people. She is a very responsible and good person. She realizes that she may lose her mother who had already tried to commit suicide because of the choice of her daughter. Arzu makes her decision and parts with her beloved man. She believes that the physical separation does not mean anything because her heart and soul will always remain with Rafael.

- In your opinion, is it possible to keep the balance?

- You have to be open to the world. Our people are locked into their own world, full of prohibitions and taboos, to such an extent that they are afraid to think differently and act against all odds. I think everyone needs to understand that no-one gets another chance to live, and therefore, a person should be happy here and now. We need to communicate with people, travel, devote more time to our family and do things we love. If you are truly passionate about your work, you will not have time to gossip and dig into other people's lives. We should never judge or discuss anyone. Nothing is more annoying to us than the invasion of uninvited guests into our living space, privacy and other spheres of our existence. I think that by criticizing other people's lives and views, we are looking for ways to justify our own mistakes and protect ourselves from others.

- How was the casting for the Inner City conducted?

- As soon as Ilqar Safat read the script, he immediately told me that he would assign the role of the mother of Arzu, the lead character, to actress Mehriban Zaki. For a long time, we could not find an actor for the role of Arzu's beloved, Rafael, a Karabakh war veteran. We were conducting a long and unsuccessful casting until Ilqar invited Firdovsi Atakisiyev. During the filming, we worked together very well and became a real family. It was easy and comfortable for me to work with Firdovsi. We understood each other without words despite the fact that our team was international: the cameraman was from Italy, his assistant - from France, sound engineers - from St. Petersburg and Georgia, and the actors - from Azerbaijan.

- Are you akin to your character, Arzu? What do you have in common?

- Only the love of art and a strong desire to be happy and not to depend on the opinions of others. Perhaps the similarity ends here. She is reserved and balanced, while I am emotional and sociable.

- Tell me, what are you working on now?

- I have recently finished work on a short-film script, which will be made into a movie soon. The filming of a new movie, directed by Maria Ibragimova, is going to begin in early summer. This film is dedicated to a 12-year-old girl, Mariam, who is in love with a boy who is older than her by several years. The boy does not share the feelings of his young neighbour. He is fond of a young woman and is craving for her love and attention. And then young Mariam begins to imitate the boy's adult love, copying her mannerisms, gait and style. I will not tell you the end of this story... I can only say that the main idea of this film is that people need not change themselves in order to please others. We should love and appreciate ourselves for what we are. Currently I am also writing a script for a feature film about a young Azerbaijani woman, Amina, who tries to understand her past and find the lost ties with her homeland. At one time, Amina was forced to move to Russia and forget about her origin. Suddenly, her father died, and the woman arrives in Baku for the funeral. Here she recalls her past fears and realizes what prevented her from living a normal life and feeling herself free. All this time, the lead character was so fixed on the denial of her past that she did not notice the beauty and wisdom of the Azerbaijani traditions and customs.

- Tahmina, where do you find stories for your scripts?

- These are mainly my observations of the destinies of people around me. I may hear a story somewhere or someone may tell me about the incident from the life of their friend or neighbour... I like to write specifically about women who overcome their fears and lack of understanding from society and do not take cues from those around them. I like women with the strong spirit who are defending their happiness and love.

- What kind of films do you watch at leisure? Who is on your list of favourite film directors?

- I like films by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. After viewing his film Nader and Simin, A Separation, I stayed in a state of emotional shock for a long time. Farhadi managed to assemble an excellent cast and create vivid and realistic characters in his film. Little Termeh, the daughter of Nader and Simin, has to choose which of her parents to stay with after their divorce. For her happiness, her mother wants to move to the West, while her father stays at home. This is not just a choice between parents. This is also a choice between tradition and future, between law and mercy. In this sense, the story of a separation turns out to be one of the loss of and a search for identity. In fact, this is quite a universal story, which could as well happen in Azerbaijan… I also immensely enjoy watching films by Terrence Malick. For example, The Tree of Life, which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival five years ago. In essence, the plot of The Tree of Life is based on the eternal question asked by the author in the very first stills: there are two paths for the individual to follow. One is the path of human nature with all its passions; the other is the path of divine grace with forgiveness and love for their neighbour. This is a very fine philosophical film.

- What film has a female character like you?

- I think it is Jenny from An Education, the film by director Lone Scherfig based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. According to the plot, Jenny makes a big mistake but, getting aware of it, she takes an effort and gets back to her feet. Action defines character. Do you remember Jenny's phrase: "If you never do anything, you never become anyone" (laughing). I also think so. We should not just sit still and wait until we get lucky. We need to act and be steady in our purpose. We are able to change this world, alter principles that stand in the way of happiness and go against the "blinkered" society.

- Could you yourself go against the entire world?

- I did so to some extent when I went to study in the USA at the age of 17. I was lucky: my family always supported and understood me. My happiness was more important for them than other people's opinions. They certainly had to hear a lot of "advice" and "recommendations" from people around that they shouldn't let their daughter go far from home, especially go overseas to become an actress! The girl must be quiet and inconspicuous. The girl must sit at home. The girl must… must… must… but I think that the girl must not do anything for anybody. She is just obliged to be happy: do her thing, marry her beloved man and fulfil herself as a personality.

- If you were to write the script for a film about men, what would this movie be about?

- (Thinking) I would show the sad reality of our society, in which some of the young men are not able to live on their own, without regard for the opinions of acquaintances and relatives. Most of them do not marry girls they date and love, but those chosen for them by their parents. I would write about how easy it is to miss an important person in your life just because you're afraid to swim against the stream...

- It sounds like you have retold the plot of the famous film Tahmina by director Rasim Ocaqov... 

- You know, I was named after the heroine of this film. I was given the double name - Tahmina Rafaella - by my beloved grandfather. His name was Rafael (laughing). And if I had the opportunity to rewrite the finale of Tahmina, I would have endowed the lead character with another fate. My Tahmina would have met her real man, who would have made her happy in spite of everything and everyone. He would have appreciated her strong and independent spirit, because every woman should be loved and happy. Whereas Zaur would regret his loss to the end of his days and live with the woman he would never love...