Fly me to the moon

We don’t really need much of an excuse to get ourselves up to Damascus for a few days. An extended session in Hammam Nurreddine before reclining in Beit Jabri for several hours of face-stuffing is something we could do most weekends if we’re being honest. But the car-keys were being wielded with extra vigour when we learned that Qamar Khalaf, the curly-haired actress who seems to have made a personal vocation to make intense Syrian social dramas palatable for male consumption, was available for an interview. 

 

The early 30-something was most recently on our TV screens as an Iraqi journalist in Hodu’ Nisby, a study of our particular field in contemporary Arab society. Indeed, so effective was she in the role that most people thought she was from Baghdad, not a suburb of the Syrian capital. She greets us in a simple shirt and jeans, with those trademark curls flowing freely. Prettier than she appears on TV, and certainly more shy than we expected, Qamar soon charmed her way into NOX’s top 5 interviewees. 

 

Qamar Khalaf: No, I don’t think that’s entirely fair. We discussed the role of the Arabic press through the story of an Iraqi daughter trying to start her career in journalism. The series as a whole was all about the role of Arabic press, which naturally does comment on the Iraqi press, but it’s not meant as a reflection. Still, if that’s what people think, it’s the writer’s job to conduct a full research before he writes the story.

 

Qamar: Some directors accept the interference of the actors, but unfortunately most of them don’t. As an actress, I receive the text offered by the production company and if I like it – which, if I’m being honest, is the main reason I’ll take a part – I will accept it. But I rarely discuss the part that they’ve created. The producers, not the directors, are mostly the decision makers about that.

 

Qamar: I won’t refuse it directly, I have to think it through and to see if it’s important to show the character. But seductive scenes in Arab productions don’t tend to convince me, while in Western productions they feel more true to the script. In Syria, it’s a big deal if we get the brother to kiss his sister if he’s just got back to the country.

 

Qamar: I honestly don’t know. Maybe if you get me a white flower; a flower might make me happy. Or anything from the heart. Put it this way, I had a date with a guy and he was very late, saying his trousers were dirty. How lame is that?

 

Qamar: His shoes. Elegance definitely starts with the shoes you wear and it very much matters to me.

 

For a full version of this article, see NOX43.