<span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">D</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="0">epression was the catalyst for Emirati filmmaker Tariq Alkazim's most recent feature film, </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-track="0"><em>A Tale of </em></span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-track="0"><em>Shadows</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="0">. The </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="0">psychological horror movie set on a remote farm releases in UAE cinemas on August 17.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">Alkazim says </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">it was a dark period in his life </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">that provided the final chapter for a story he began writing </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">four years ago.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"I was very stressed," Alkazim says. "And it started causing hallucinations, I kept seeing these dark shadows. I had an unfinished story about a dying writer who goes to a remote farm to write his final book, and when I had this experience I combined the two and rewrote the story."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">The tale</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> is as a direct result of </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">Alkazim successfully raising </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">a "quite big" budget, mostly from his family</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">He initially intended to shoot </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"><em>Shadows</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> as three interlinked short films, taking place at different times but </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">that idea didn't make the final cut.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"The crew just weren't with me," Alkazim says. "</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">I had a set budget for each of the three shorts and they were saying 'pull out of the other movies, just make one'.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"I had a plan to do 40 to 50 shots per day, but we were only getting eight ... that killed the film. The budget ran out and a lot of the crew left because I couldn't pay them anymore. From a crew of about 30 people we were down to 10."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">At that point it looked like </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"><em>Shadows</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> was dead in the water. That was until Alkazim and his producer decided they would make what would have been the third of the shorts by themselves with next to no funding.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">The </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">30-minute film, </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"><em>Just Smile</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">, is according to Alkazim,</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> the best short </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">of his career. </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">This reinvigorated the pair </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">and they </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">made the final film on a shoestring budget.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"We had maybe Dh50,000</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">. It was crazy and tiring, but thankfully the actors and the small crew we put together really got behind me and helped. It's basically all about how much you want it</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"><em>Shadows</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-track="10" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> is a horror film about a newly arrived worker on a remote farm who is tormented by a psychotic farmer with a dark secret and a host of mysterious hooded shadows.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">Alkazim hopes he has successfully brought a fresh approach to the genre</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">. "I'm a big fan of horror, but not the jump-scare type," he says. "I didn't just want a group of friends going to a lake or a cabin in the woods and being attacked by a monster, then one escapes."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">Instead, he tried to bring his </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">experience of making dramas to his most recent offering.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"I would love it if people saw horror the same way they see drama. Not just the sudden shock but also an emotional response to the characters – that's what I've done in this film."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">He believes he has managed to evoke a feeling of sympathy for the villain despite the fear.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"That's very difficult to achieve," he says. "It gives the movie an element of mystery that keeps the audience curious – they don't understand why this character is doing what he's doing."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"><em>Shadows</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}"> joins a </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">small group of locally made films that have achieved a general </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">release.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"When I started looking for distribution, the main people I knew from watching films and festivals was Gulf Film, so I looked them up and discovered they were in the same building as the cafe where I would sit writing the script.</span> <br/> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">The fact it is in English, even though there are Arab characters, was probably beneficial," he says</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">, noting that his approach worked. </span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-uat="{KerningMethod:JElEL09wdGljYWw=}">"But they watched it, they liked it, and they just said 'we want to release it. How much?'"</span>