Posted on 10/15/2013 7:44:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Abdellah Taia, the only openly homosexual Moroccan writer, was in Venice to present his debut film, “Salvation Army”, adapted from his autobiographical novel about growing up gay in Morocco. FRANCE 24 sat down with Taia for an interview. By Jon FROSCH (text)
In an edition of the Venice Film Festival notable for the prevalence of works grappling with global and societal woes (unemployment, terrorism, pollution, war), perhaps no film has blended the personal and the political as strikingly as Abdellah Taia’s “L’Armée du salut” (“Salvation Army”).
A promising directorial debut presented in the independent “Critics’ Week” category on Wednesday, the movie is adapted from Taia’s autobiographical novel about growing up gay in Morocco.
Abdellah Taia Today, the 40-year-old Taia is the only openly homosexual Moroccan writer-filmmaker. He is based in Paris, where he moved in 2000 to pursue a graduate degree in 18th century French literature.
“Salvation Army” observes the adolescent protagonist’s sexual awakening, as he meets with men in shadowy alleys and empty lots, careful not to be discovered in a country where homosexuality is a crime punishable by prison time.
The film’s final section finds Abdellah living in Switzerland ten years later, free from the severe restrictions of Moroccan society, but nostalgic for his native land.
FRANCE 24 sat down with Taia for an interview about his film, his life, and his views on homosexuality, Islam, Morocco and France. Here are some highlights.
F24: Are you hoping that “Salvation Army” will be released in Morocco?
AT: More than hoping – I really want it to be released in Morocco. Before shooting, I submitted the screenplay in its original form to the authorities at the National Centre for Moroccan Cinema. I didn’t cut anything. I didn’t want to sugarcoat things in order to get the green light to shoot. They approved the screenplay, and I hope they end up following through by allowing the film to be released.
I know a lot of people will be shocked when they see the film. But I don’t see anything shocking in it, because it portrays a reality. I’m not the only person to have lived this reality, nor am I the only one who sees it.
F24: You’re known as a novelist, and this is your first film. What inspired you to make the movie?
AT: Cinema has been an obsession of mine for a long time. Ever since my adolescence, I’ve had this dream [of making movies], which came from my love of Egyptian cinema. That was the only culture that we had access to in Morocco, as a poor family. Egyptian films were the only ones on Moroccan television. They taught us a lot about love, about society, about ourselves. And as a homosexual, they pretty much saved me, because they allowed me to escape to this whole other world.
There are also films and filmmakers that inspired me, but that I didn’t discover until I was an adult: Satyajit Ray’s “Apu trilogy”; the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, for its dark romanticism, its taste for melodrama, its critique of World War II-era Germany and its subversive, but tender, portrait of homosexuality; and Michael Powell’s “Black Narcissus”, which directly influenced “Salvation Army”.
F24: Tell me about what it’s like today for homosexuals in Morocco. Have things evolved at all?
AT: The law still considers homosexuality a crime, and people are still are very harsh in their views of gays. So that has not changed.
On the other hand, the Moroccan press has dramatically changed its view on homosexuality -- for example, they defend me. They also give gay people in Morocco the chance to express themselves. There are young gay Moroccans who created a gay magazine in Arabic. And there’s now an Arabic word for “homosexual” that is not disrespectful: “mithy”. It was created just six years ago, and is now used everywhere.
It’s the government that has not changed. It’s still impossible to come out of the closet in Morocco and anywhere in the Arab world. Morocco is actually ahead of other Arab countries when it comes to homosexuality, because at least the issue has been debated in the press.
F24: At the end of the film, the protagonist seems nostalgic for Morocco (he’s living in Switzerland, but cries when he hears a Moroccan song). What are your feelings about Morocco today?
AT: I definitely feel a connection to my homeland, and will for the rest of my life. I lived in Morocco for 25 years. I feel attached to the land there, the sky. Morocco is inside of me: its culture, its violence, its folklore.
At the same time, I am aware that in Morocco, I was prevented from becoming what I am today, from feeling free. And I see that people over there are still suffocating. But that doesn’t take away from the very strong emotions I still have for the country.
A scene from Abdellah Taia's "Salvation Army". Paris is not heaven on earth, either; it’s tough like any other place. There are unhealthy power dynamics and manipulation. But there’s also extraordinary access to culture, even if you don’t have money. Moreover, Paris helps artists, even those who are not French, to pursue their projects and fight for them, despite the obstacles, the racism, the fact that we’re looked at as immigrants.
F24: Are you a practising Muslim?
AT: I consider myself culturally Muslim. I feel connected to the great writers and thinkers of Islamic civilisation, the great philosophers, sociologists and poets. I believe firmly in secularism, and I think that Muslims would be better off liberating themselves from religion. Islam should have no role in government.
I don’t want to deny my Muslim roots. I come from a place where people need to free themselves from religion. If I spent my time saying that those [religious Muslims] are bad, I’d be doing them a disservice. The best thing I can do for them is affirm and re-affirm the attachment I feel for them, while simultaneously being myself.
F24: Is there a place for gays in today’s Islam?
AT: Of course there’s a place for gays in Islam. The greatest Arab poet, Abu Nuwas, was gay. He wrote poems about his love for boys. So a place for gays in Islam exists. Those that want to deny that place are not going to win in the end. For me, that’s obvious.
Well, every cloud has a silver lining. When the liberals are done wrecking America they will wreck Islam. If these people could make something I would be impressed
Jews don’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
Protestants don’t recognize the Pope.
Muslims don’t recognize each other in the back room at the bar.
Actually, the moslems will kill them. The atheists will be the first to lose their heads.
>> the adolescent protagonist’s sexual awakening, as he meets with men in shadowy alleys and empty lots,
Dubbed an “awakening”. Imagine if he wandered onto a farm.
it’s where their necks meet the sword.
No, it's actually referred to as pederasty....or plain old buggery.
The stupid Muslims always go after boys at a very young age
Then they deny it and claim that it never happened
This is because these morons keep women locked away in full regalia
Bottom line. The mooselimda needs to get into the 21st century!
Grow up already and learn how to be nice to girls. It will get you a LONG WAY Trust me
Cheers!
Freeper daddy
You would be a Lesbian. You have no choice and passions in women are not as controlling as a man’s passion for sex-—the culture teaches little boys to hate women and their bodies——they are filthy——and so women naturally form alliances because the men hate them and won’t associate with them. They use them as breeding machines only——like all homosexual cultures—the Samurai/Spartans Brownshirts. They are brutal cultures because they never respect/love women and children are used for lust.
The good news is that you get your 22 virgins. The bad news is that they are all flamers.
22 = 72
Islmic perversion notwithstanding, women who think they always get bailed out by another will have a bad wake up with muslims, and gays are completely deluded if it is what they expect. Sharia might make them into a village play thing at best.
Another favorite place for homosexuals is under the rubble of the brick wall they crush them with.
And now we know why the Left love these people, even though they will slit lib’s throats after they take over.
It will be the other way around. The left will slit Islam’s throat after they get rid of others. The left is 1,000,000 times more of a threat than Islam.
The men in the middle east don't always have much choice. The women of the family choose husbands/wives for their children. So if some poor soul gets a wife that looks like Atila the Hun, I can see why he would search out another. And, in strict Muslim countries boys are the natural choice since the genders are almost always separated.
I worked for five years in the middle east. My boss married his first cousin, whom he had never formally met. They met on their wedding day. I asked if he loved her and he said "Yes, we learned to love each other." Both he and his wife were 15 years old when they married.
However, not all Muslim societies are as restrictive as those in the middle east.
Indonesia is Muslim, the largest Muslim country in the world. They AREN'T as restrictive as the middle east. European Albania and Kosovo have a majority of Muslims and I surmise that their culture is fairly liberal. I might be wrong since I've never been there.
Islam is in real trouble in Indonesia because they are allowing people to leave. They have a whole campaign on it to Save Maryam
I started going to Mass EVERY day....in Saudi Arabia. I used to go to Mass only on Sundays and when I had to here in the USA.
There were priests in the Kingdom who said daily Mass. You won't find it officially on the books there as the priests, the Anglican man of the cloth (for the 6 Anglicans on camp) and the Lutheran minister for ALL the Protestants, were called "special teachers."
Imagine, finding such deep faith in MuslimLand.
I was able to go to Mass every day and my co-worker, a Catholic, protested. He went to my Saudi boss to tell on me, that I was leaving work 20 minutes every day to attend Mass. I WAS making up the time by working on my lunch hour. But that wasn't GOOD enough for my co-worker. He said that I should go to Mass on Fridays, like everyone else.
Do you know what my Saudi boss said?
I quote: "God is number one. There is always time for God. Mary (not my real name) can go to pray whenever she wants."
Both my co-worker and I were stunned. So, I went to Mass every day and continued the "habit" when I returned home to the states.
My boss was a very good man. There were just about the same percentage of good people there as here...and conversely, the same percentage of jerks. I was lucky to have a kind, God-fearing, God-appreciating boss.
I'm sure they ask for a son (assumption on my part) and I don't blame them. Mary had quite a Son, didn't she?
Just made it up since they don't want to be Muslims but are. Like it? :)
In general people are raised with good intentions even under the evils of Islam, Nazism, Stalinist and so on.
The problem comes when their teachings tell them to do evil.
Mary in Islam is the mother of a prophet he is not the son of a god. They respect what is said about the prophet that is worded in the Qur'an they can not read the source (the bible.)
In general people are raised with good intentions even under the evils of Islam, Nazism, Stalinist and so on. The problem comes when their teachings tell them to do evil.
True. I know that the Koran spouts that killing non-Muslims is a good thing, but having lived in a Muslim country for five years, I know that isn't really how people act. What makes people what they are is what they DO, not what they THINK.
Mary in Islam is the mother of a prophet he is not the son of a god. They respect what is said about the prophet that is worded in the Qur'an they can not read the source (the bible.)
True enough. Boy, are Muslims gonna be surprised one day.
Side note: Infertile Muslim women pray to Mary (Maryam) to ask for FERTILITY. Mary had a Son...and oh what a Son she had. There is no female image in Islam, so it's not surprising that they would pray to Mary. I think it is VERY weird, but infertile women get desperate, I guess.
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