Egyptian Director Adel Adeeb celebrated the release of his two new books "My Dreams," and "Hearts of Lost Assassins," with many media and art celebrities, on Saturday.
During an interview with "Asharq Al-Awsat," Adeeb said: "I had the idea of 'Dreams' years ago. It includes 30 dramatic processes I always wished to work on, but I couldn't. I said to myself I should publish them so others can use them after my death. The genes I inherited from my father, scriptwriter Abdul Hay Adeeb, and co-writing with him, helped me so much. During my life as a director, I had a lot of ideas I wished to work on within my 29-year journey, but the market didn't give me the time, and I didn't find someone who believes in them so far."
"I also wrote the novel 'Hearts of Lost Assassins,' over nine years. It's the dream of my life. It's part one of a long journey, and many other parts will follow to explore the intellect of Muslim Brotherhood, and the Iranian intellect and roots, along with the idea of religious extremism, blood, and murder," he added.
The Egyptian director explained he does not fear terrorist groups and their threats, saying: "My role as an artist forces me to be a source of light. I don't fear extremist organizations, and I welcome anyone willing to kill me. I would be a martyr. But, I will keep fighting through works that discuss political Islam whenever I have the chance to."
Adeeb noted that when he was offered to direct the series "Gharabib Soud", which was rejected by many directors over fear of extremist groups, he accepted right away although the shooting took place on the Syrian-Lebanese border, 40 km from Raqqa, ISIS' former stronghold in Syria.
"My family and I received many threatening messages, which I still have. I also directed 'Bab Al Khalk' series in the peak of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt, and I have been preparing a new work about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the past four years," he said.
About choosing his wife Manal Salama and Actor Mofid Ashour to record the audio version of his book, he said: "Audio books have become a preference for many Egyptians and Arabs. This is why I selected professionals with a great Arabic accent for this work. My wife, Actress Manal Salama is my friend. I am a fan of her, and everybody knows that she and Actor Mofid Ashour are among the best Arabic speaking artists.
In the interview, Adeeb mentioned that Paris SFX, the world's biggest graphics festival, screened the September 11 two-minute scene from his movie "The Baby Doll Night," with many other great works.
Speaking about his Turkish series "Barbaros," Adeeb said he is so grateful for working with two of the most brilliant actors in the history of Turkey, Engin Altan and Ulaş Tuna. "First, we agreed to shoot three episodes. But once we finished the teaser and the promo, they loved the action scenes we introduced in the first 30 minutes. It was crazy! Then, they requested to change the contract, and now I am responsible for the action scenes and graphics in the series."
About his work outside Egypt, he said: "I have many works in Turkey, Iraq, Algeria, and the Gulf, because I see the artist as an international character. I worked in over 18 countries, and I can say I am the director who worked the most abroad- in the United States, Africa, Europe, the Levant, and the Gulf. I feel so happy when I work with teams from different nationalities and thoughts."
Adeeb saw that "linking cable channels with production companies in one conglomerate is not a good idea, because it will definitely lead to an overlap of interest between production and advertising in the private sector."
The Egyptian director revealed he distanced himself from local drama in the past few years, following his 2014 series "Jabal Al Halal," because of the transformations, monopoly, and shifts that dominated the local production market following the Arab spring. The focus in this industry turned from culture and art to security, he claimed. Amid all these changes, he felt like a stranger, and decided that he can't work in this market. So, he refused to work in this environment, unless according to his terms.
Finally, Adeeb noted that he and his brothers are used to succeed without using their family name, saying: "My father raised and taught me to succeed alone, away from my siblings. This is what characterizes the Adeeb family. Each one of us has his own achievements. My brothers Amro and Imad have worked in journalism and media over 30 years, and me, as a director, I have myriads of works that qualifies me to appear in their programs, but I didn't to avoid unnecessary talk. The Good News Group, owned by my family, produced only one of my movies, the Baby Doll Night, which was written by my father."
