Indie filmmaker Khalid El-Jelailati grew up between two cultures and wants to use his diverse upbringing to tell stories on the big screen.
El-Jelailati grew up between Lebanon and South Africa and is determine to integrate his cultural experiences in the films that he brings to life.
“I want to tell stories from an Arab/Muslim point of view. I never grew up in an artistic household, I wasn’t exposed to any sort of artistic culture,” he said.
The Johannesburg screenwriter and filmmaker has written and produced many projects, including three feature films - Aya which was released in 2018, Nandi in 2021 and Olivia, earlier this year.
El-Jelailati is working on a project for Netflix and the National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF). After a rigorous selection process, he was chosen to produce his next feature film.
“I believe this project will help lift the ‘cultural ceiling’. With access to opportunities and resources comes the confidence to explore,” he said.
El-Jelailati said one of his biggest challenges in the industry has been what he described as ‘cutting the cultural glass ceiling of the industry’.
“The hurdle of elitism and exclusivity meant having to overcome countless barriers, but I’ve set my mind on overcoming those,” he said.
He added: “There’s nothing that can stop me from sharing my love for making independent films.”
His love for indie filmmaking came from when he was younger.
“Indie is so important to me because it makes the magic of cinema understandable as a craft. It democratised filmmaking for a young boy from (an) Arab culture,” he said.
His advice to aspiring filmmakers is to go out and create.
“There’s so much you don’t know about filmmaking that you can’t learn from a book,” he said.
“You must set up a scene and film it, and then you’ll know what it means to be a filmmaker.”