I was recently introduced to filmmaker and fellow countryman Wassim Hawat by friend and popular YouTube chat show host, Teresa Aker. What a charming, talented and passionate filmmaker Wassim is! He’s worked alongside Australian film and tv legends as well as int’l film stars, creating a filmography and IMDb list that anyone would envy. Wassim and I recently spoke online about the Aussie film industry, filmmaking in general and what brought him to this point in his career, and I’d like to share his thoughts with you all here….

Congratulations, Wassim, for developing your first self-directed film Emanate for which, I believe, you also wrote the script as well as working with your co-producing partner Rodney Mansour. Whew…I’m exhausted just writing that – how much time are you putting in to this exciting new project?  Emanate will be our second joint project and it’s our first feature film collaboration. Rodney and I first worked on a 40min film called The Sound Eye which was a critical and audience success. Although it was an amazing experience for the both of us, Emanate will be twice as challenging due to the psychological nature of the story and its complex storyline.And can you tell us a little about this film- what subject or genre?  Emanate is a thought-provoking psychological thriller that is a character study driven by a troubled man with visions of a childhood swing accident, and who spends the movie wondering what’s happening to him as he loses grasp on reality, all the time grieving his father’s death.

Do you have a favourite director (currently working or from the past) who inspires you?  I’ve been particularly drawn to filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, Stanley Kubrick, David Fincher, Frances Ford Coppola …and many of the big-ticket filmmakers. They have influenced the way I watch movies, think and see the world, and they’ve inspired me to become a filmmaker. I grew up watching the great action performers such as Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damn and Bruce Lee (pictured below) . I’ve followed the careers of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Leonardo Di Caprio and Johnny Depp, and they, too, have had a great influence on my career and choice of roles. You’ve worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in major feature films (Gerard Butler, the late Robert Redford & Chadwick Boseman, plus Aussie legends Cate Blanchette and Geoffrey Rush). What have you learned about acting by watching these greats in action?  I paid close attention to how experienced actors portray characters. I tend to analyze their choices in dialogue, movement and emotional expression. I watch closely and consider how they interact with other actors and how they handle different types of scenes.  (Wassim appeared alongside 2 of my favourite actors, Tim Roth  and Aussie Matt Nable, in the TV series Last King of the Cross about a legendary real-life gangster working in the infamous King’s Cross red light district of Sydney)Learning from established actors on set involves observing their professionalism, technique, and how they handle the work, from scene execution to dealing with mistakes. Key strategies include paying attention to their preparation and process, watching their interactions with the crew, and even studying their mistakes and how they recover. By being a student of the craft on a working set, I’ve gained invaluable on-the-job experience and insights that supplement formal training.

You’re also an acclaimed stuntman, what sort of training (and how long) do you go through prior to stepping in front of the cameras?  Growing up, I trained in karate which led me to boxing, kick boxing, Mua Thai and now into learning the techniques of fight on camera: I’ve always been fascinated by stunts and fights on screen.  To convincingly portray film fights and stunts, professionals use choreographed actions, camera angles, editing techniques, and special effects to create the illusion of contact while prioritizing safety. That’s an incredible skill set to develop. A dedicated stunt coordinator is essential for designing and managing these complex sequences which I’ve learned and is still a work in progress. Wassim, you also enjoy live theatre and have performed on some of Australia’s most prestigious stages.  Do you have a preference – stage or screen? And do any of your stage skills translate to your film and TV acting?  The main difference is that theatre acting requires large, physical performances with vocal projection for a distant, live audience, while screen acting is subtle, intimate and grounded because the camera captures such close-up performances. Theatre acting is a continuous, live performance with real-time audience feedback, while screen acting involves isolated scenes shot out of order with a reliance on the director, editor, and other production elements….and I   personally enjoy both. I started off in theatre, but feel I’m more connected to screen acting as I feel it’s more authentic and personal to me.

So where are you right now in the development process for Emanate? Is the script set in stone? Do you have casting done in your head…or a wish list for certain actors?  The screenplay is pretty much done – we’re just polishing now. And we’re well into pre-production working closely with our Director of Photography in regards to story- boarding and working on production design. Rodney and I are also finalising casting, crew selection and doing test shoots.And how can fans follow your progress?
My Instagram is:  @wassim_hawat_international/ and you can find me on Facebook, too. Google my name and numerous YouTube videos will also pop up.

Thanks so much for joining Saucy Minx for this Q&A session. We all look forward to seeing Emanate in the cinemas soon and following your career in the future.