Cyril Aris Opens Up the Inner Workings of his Film “The President’s Visit”

“This story was inspired by the absurdity of the political scene in my home country, Lebanon, and my desire to see this with humor rather than desperation. We did not have a President for over two years (2014-2016), simply because our parliament couldn’t agree on a candidate. Stuck in political limbo, the whole country was leaderless,” says Cyril Aris.

Yet the country continued to function, and soon after Lebanon had a duly elected President, it continued working the same way. It seemed that the country is equally functional and dysfunctional with or without a sitting President. It makes one wonder why “Lebanese” argue and fight over “Political issues” and “Political representations”, and if Politics is of any use to Lebanon at all. “This is why Mounia Akl and I wrote this sarcastic and absurd comedy as a need to approach this desperate situation with humor”, says Cyril Aris.

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
Cyril Aris (CA): Not a specific cast member, but I had an overall look for the characters that I was going for. Besides the main actors, we cast non-actors for the secondary parts and the background characters, as I believe they’re instrumental in reflecting and depicting the world of the film.

Official Trailer for ‘The President’s Visit’ directed by Cyril Aris, produced by Marc Fadel and Valerie Martinez

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indieactivity: How long did you take to complete the script? 
Cyril Aris (CA): It took a few months between the inception of the idea and the final script. I try not to focus solely on one script when writing, as I believe that working on other projects and other scripts in parallel will always give me some perspective and some fresh eye every time I open the pages for re-writing. The first draft is usually the easiest, as it contains all the ideas and emotions thrown in there without specific awareness of how they all fit into the script. It is in the several re-writes that a script is truly written and shaped, as it tends to be more aware of how each scene functions in relation to the others.

indieactivity: When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
Cyril Aris (CA): I personally do not have a production company. The movie was produced by two producers, Marc Fadel (The Rolling Can) who has a company in Lebanon, and who took care of all the line producing and the on-the-ground execution, and another company in the US, Valerie Martinez (IndieFlip), who assisted me in the development of the script as well as the gathering of funds.

indieactivity: During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Cyril Aris (CA): The Steadicam long take by the beach, towards the end of the film, where Nino walks across the wounded inhabitants of the town. It was the hardest shoot because of the technical difficulties of shooting a winding and slow Steadicam shot, as well as the staging of around 40 characters while racing against time in order to capture the shot right minutes before sunset, as it would offer the best light.

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indieactivity: What works better in this latest production that mightn’t have worked so well in the last one you did?
Cyril Aris (CA): I believe in this short, I was able to align all different departments under one same vision, or working under the same umbrella. In my last short, it was harder for me to convey the same mood with cinematography, sound design music, and production design, all at the same time. Here, I believe we were more successful in having the visuals and sounds working to depict the same world and being faithful to the story. A director has so many different tools to express ideas and emotions, it tends to get overwhelming or imprecise if all departments are working independently of the others.

indieactivity: You directed the film, what measure of input did it take?
Cyril Aris: Well, I only directed, while “Marc Fadel” and ‘Valerie Martinez’ produced.

indieactivity: Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Cyril Aris (CA): As with all independent cinema, it is always a struggle to gather the funds, especially for a short film. One has to find a combination of funds from various resources, including grants, crowdfunding, and in-kind services negotiated with other companies.

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indieactivity: Where do you think your strengths line as a filmmaker?
Cyril Aris (CA): I would feel a little weird to talk about my strengths. I can say that I am learning more and more that audiences care about story and feelings uniquely, all the rest is pointless if the audience isn’t actively engaged with the characters and the story. As a result, when directing, I tend to only think about that, and how to make all departments work for that one purpose.

indieactivity: Let’s talk finance, How did you finance the film?
Cyril Aris (CA): This film was funded with the help of grants from the Doha Film Institute, the Katharina Otto-Bernstein Film Fund in the US, and the Ministry of Culture in Lebanon. Adding to that, we had a small IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign, as well as two executive producers who were able to close the budget. We were also able to receive multiple in-kinds and services for a very reduced fee or for free, so it was with the support of many different parties that we were able to finance the film.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Cyril Aris (CA): My producers were very hands-on and have years of experience in producing, so we were able to produce the film within budget.

indieactivity: Can you tell us about your marketing activities on the project – and how it’s gone for you?
Cyril Aris (CA): With the movie getting into festivals, publicity and press come along with the selections. Because shorts tend to get less exposure than features, it’s hard to talk about marketing for shorts. All of our focus on developing an appropriate festival strategy that would benefit the exposure of the short.

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indieactivity: What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Cyril Aris (CA): It would be hard to put a nail to it, as the open ending of the short leaves room for interpretation. I’d rather not voice out my own interpretation of it, because it would defeat the effect we were trying to achieve, and have the audience think about the short even after it is over.

indieactivity: What else have you got in the works?
Cyril Aris (CA): I have a feature documentary currently going through the festival circuit, called The Swing. It premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and its narrative revolves around a family tragedy, with the two protagonists being my 82-year-old grandmother and my 90-year old grandfather. It examines questions about mortality, and what remains by the end of life when we progressively lose our physical abilities and our memory. The film also screened in London, Egypt, France, Rome, Budapest, and other festivals around the world. In parallel, I am developing my first narrative work.

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