Sainthood isn’t the easiest of subjects to tackle…

This isn’t just a project, this is a promise I made to St. Charbel. My son, named Charbel, is now a year and a half old, and actually plays baby Charbel in the movie. When my wife had pregnancy complications I asked for his help, and this is fulfilling my promise.

I hear you launched a large campaign quite some time ago, why so far in advance?

I wanted people to anticipate it. We were still working on the script, and I launched a fifty thousand dollar advertising campaign. A lot of people have known about it for over a year, and a lot of people have waited for it. You have no idea how many people and magazines have asked consistently over this past year: is it out yet?

Why so far in advance though?

I knew that if the idea was leaked someone else would make the movie, and the problem with that is that they’d make it commercial. They’d write a cheap script and just use the name to sell their movie, and I wanted to nip that at the bud. And sure enough I soon found out that two other guys were working on the idea, and Charbel is important to me, more important than you can imagine, on a personal level.

And you couldn’t stand to see it commercialized…

The last thing I want is some low budget film to come out and commercialize his name. A bunch of guys could have gotten together, spent a hundred grand on actors and cotton beards and called it a movie.

But people are typically delicate with religious matters…

I know what they wouldn’t have done. They wouldn’t have tarnished his name, completely. So I took my loss, I knew the campaign was money to the garbage, but I got what I wanted and they backed off completely. And then we set to work on the script.

I’m sure it was difficult to find the right people for that…

To say the least. We searched long and hard for the person closest to St. Charbel’s spirituality, and we found that in the person of Father Youhanna Khawand. This hermit is the only person legally approved for translating Siriac to Arabic to Hebrew… the guy knows ten languages, he’s unbelievable. He lives the same life that St. Charbel did, and was more than happy to help.

In what capacity?

He oversaw the whole script; you can’t have a normal person write this script. St. Charbel was a man of very few words, and every word he ever uttered meant a lot, and that had to apply to the script. Men like you or I could not have written it. Father Khawand and Mounir Maasri spent close to 200 hours, every single day, until they were satisfied with the script. I wasn’t very involved in the casting; more with the budget.

The very significant budget…

I knew it would take a huge budget, I knew I wouldn’t earn back even half of my investment. As far as budgets go, this is the largest in the history of Lebanese film.

Can I ask how large?

Over a million dollars. I didn’t care, I wanted to get the message out. I wanted people to see how down to earth St. Charbel was, compare the things we care about and the things he cared about. I might be a long way from sainthood, and I don’t say this with pride, but at the same time if I can’t turn to God, a million other people could. And perhaps this film’s message will help them do what I couldn’t.

Will the message translate in other countries?

St. Charbel is famous in Latin America as well. When I flew down there for vacations, I found out that Mexicans revere St. Charbel. There are people there who might want to know more about him; they believe in him, and he still perform miracles even there. There is a priest here who documents St. Charbel’s miracles, and he gets his information from all over the world. Up till this day, every day, he documents two or three miracles a day. And that’s how the world knows him, and they have no idea how difficult his life was or how much he has been through. This is an important point; forget about becoming a saint yourself, simply comparing your life to his, it clashes so strongly it’ll shock you. I’m telling you, St. Charbel is very dear to me.

You mentioned that, may I ask why?

You might laugh if I tell you. You may have heard of Nohad El Shami (famous for waking up cured, after a neck surgery performed while she slept) he came to her and told her that he’ll perform the surgery she needed – you have to see her! Go to her house on the 21st of any month and see her plainly, come back on the 22nd to see the scars appear and bleed, and then again on the 23rd to see her cuts completely healed. She’s the only still living St. Charbel miracle; but don’t listen to me, just go up and see the lady herself.

And you had a similar personal experience?

A lot has happened between St. Charbel and myself, but I won’t sit and list them. But my relationship with him isn’t exactly pleasant; I once was about to make a mistake, one that he showed would have ruined my family life, and he appeared to me. I mean, I laugh at people who talk about these appearances, and some I believe. He never appeared to me, at least not with good news. When he did appear he scolded me, and his words were so powerful you feel wrapped in a massive magnetic field. So I was sitting there asking him to talk to me, and he wouldn’t. Instead he cracked my TV screen, that’s how mad he was. You can’t screw around with this saint, you can’t play with him or fool him, or negociate with him.

All right sold to Time Out Beirut

The bearded mother

You’re something of an icon in theater…

Well let me tell you, I act alone and people who act alone typically run three or four shows. It’s often an intellectual show. I’ve held four plays, one man shows, and with each one I’ve met with great success. I was able to carry them around the world with me. This makes me happy. I was able to create a popular theater out of this style. I like that my audience will have anyone in it from the highly educated to the everyday theater goer.

What do you feel gives you this edge?

They believe me. When I had the spot with UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon], a lady came up to me and said: ‘UNIFIL chose well. It’s not that you’re an actor. It’s that people believe you.’ These are the type of words you hear with your heart, not your ears. When I have a play all the Lebanese come, irrespective of their religions. The topics I choose are heartfelt – the emotions of a father, the problems of the youth, the discrepancy between parents and children. My grandfather spoke to my father and my father spoke to me. But I can’t speak with my son. There’s a different education in place.

You’ve succeeded where other actors failed…

In one of my plays I say I don’t have a tribe. We’re a bunch of tribes, aren’t we? No matter how educated we get, or how far we travel, we’re all just a bunch of tribes. I have no tribe. I’m from a village and in my village we plant an olive tree for every child that is born. I have a lot to talk about – why should I play Shakespeare when there’s so much here to talk about? People still believe me and I still have a good name. This makes me fulfilled.

I’ve noticed that people always associate your name with one particular play, The Bell. Why is that?

It was shown at the right time. I staged it in ’91, as soon as the east and west border fell. I didn’t talk about the war as such – I talked as a Lebanese citizen who lived in the south, a father who lost his son during the civil war. I lived in west Beirut and staged it in the east. When I took on the role of a woman and cried over my deceased son, the women in the theater cried along with me for their own sons. They loved this woman, with her white beard – even makeup is a lie sometimes. I get up and say :‘I’m Rafic Ali Ahmad and this is my white beard. But this woman I’m playing, she’s hurting.’

What is your favorite place in Lebanon?

Wherever I’m sitting down and happy. Anywhere that gives me a moment of clarity. And Beirut is life and civilization, a meeting place of humanities.

Photo by by Tania Traboulsi

Armenian rocker Eileen Khatchadourian has managed to blend traditional Armenian rhythms with rock, and more rock. Here’s how she did it.

Why Rock? Do you feel it talks to people better?

I love rock! Many kinds of rock, and I wanted to adapt Armenian music to a style suitable and accessible to teenage Armenians, or simply to Armenians of a certain age, and of course a style my musicians and I would enjoy composing, rehearsing and performing. There is a gothic touch in my music, but it can be generally categorized as Alternative Rock . I am not the one who arranges the songs, my arrangers are Miran Gurunian and Mazen Siblini, I give the go-ahead after debates and discussions, I get to say the final word, isn’t that cool? Traditional Armenian songs have never been given a good rock before! This might be one of the major reasons why people enjoy it.

Don’t you feel this limits your crowd?

Definitely not! The crowd and listeners are Armenian youngsters, Armenian adults, and non Armenians who like world music, rock, and mostly good music. Music is universal; do you really need to understand the lyrics to appreciate a song? Do you need to be a musician to feel the music?

So what’s the point then?

I’m trying to introduce traditional Armenian songs that might very well disappear in time. I want the young Armenian generations to feel their roots, to abide by them if need be. Also, I’m trying to introduce Armenian music to the non Armenians.

We need a drink; what’s your favorite?

Fernet Branca!

What she said, and a Jack please. So how about those flashy outfits?

I design my own outfits sometimes, and I’ve been a stylist for many yeas now, so I put them together. But since I came back to Beirut Krikor Jabotian, my friend and fashion designer, designs my concert outfits. His style is just what I like. It’s as if his clothes were made for me

Do you like feathers?

Feathers? Mmm… Now that’s the most interesting question I’ve heard. It depends where and how I am using them.

I’ll need more ice here, methinks. What’s next for your singing career?

Well, we’re planning some concerts abroad, in Europe, nothing confirmed yet, negotiations still en cours. So let’s cross our fingers. Also, an album in English

Can I have your autograph?

Well, if you’ve been a good boy maybe I’ll surprise you..You’re flushed [laughs]; don’t worry, you got it.

You’ve been something of a local hero for over a year now, how does it feel?

The first thing you need to understand is that this isn’t about me. My pride is that through my achievement, I’ve helped push Lebanon’s image into the international scene. Today someone in America might be reading about the car built in Lebanon. Under impossible conditions, under siege, the Lebanese managed to be constructive.

This is more than just a car then…

It is. My slogan is: ‘only your dreams can build your country.’ This isn’t an individual’s project. I didn’t want it to be about my work. My launch was on the highway, with real people around me, not ribbons and politicians. This was built for them, to open the door for Lebanese car-making.

It isn’t a normal car anyway, is it?

It’s what you call a supercar. The design and aerodynamics are somewhat out of the ordinary, as they should be. This was born of a dream and is meant to give hope. I didn’t give it a diminished status, I parked it next to Class A cars, right from the start. The Frem F1 challenges any other car.

Even performance-wise?

I couldn’t go into high performance. Everything will be different, the four-cylinder theory is completely different from the 12-cylinder theory. If I had another $200,000 I assure you the car would have shocked the world. It performs well, don’t get me wrong. I’m only saying it’s not a racing car, yet. I’m planning to work on a very high performance car very soon. The Frem F2 will be a bomb, in a good way.

The Frem F2?

My upcoming project; a car designed with zero weaknesses. I plan to build it carefully and slowly. I plan to leave no room for criticism. In fact, when I’m done with it, anyone who tries to criticize it will find his friends shutting him up, to avoid embarrassment. The F2 will represent Lebanon internationally and I’ll have no one attacking Lebanon.

You’re an interior designer, how did you move to cars?

Interior design was a hobby, a degree on paper I needed to get to move on. I’ve geared all efforts and talent towards automotive design and while I feel I’m good, I still have some way to go. I wish I had a mentor, someone who has massive work experience in automotive design, to guide me through the difficulties and pitfalls. I would love to have some input and Lebanon doesn’t have the industry in place yet and, as a result, doesn’t have an industry expert.

So you’re hoping for outside help. Wouldn’t that make your car less Lebanese?

This hypothetical mentor will help, give input, criticize my lines or style. He won’t touch the car. I need more resources and I’ll take any I can get my hands on. The final product will be built here, by us.

So you’re the design talent, who’s behind the mechanics?

Well, I’m behind 60 per cent of it. I’ve had to learn and I’ve learned a lot. I don’t know everything, far from it. My team complements me and keeps me going. My mechanics have the freedom to work and I don’t pre¬tend to know more than them. I give my opinion, I have the language for it now. Once in a while I’ll have a better idea and they’ll implement it. It works the other way round as well. You have to have faith in your team.

And in your creation…

Absolutely. I don’t expect a flying carpet to whisk me into stardom. I expect resistance. I expect the international community to say ‘you’re Lebanese, you have no business manufacturing cars.’ I plan to break through that and any other barriers that the world has in store for me. I have high hopes.

So there’s a plan in place?

The Frem F1 was meant to build my name and my country’s name. It was meant for the Detroit exhibition. The F2 will be built for production, maybe 20 or so units. It’ll look and drive like a supercar and will be sold at a super price. That’ll provide funding for the later stages.

Later stages?

The F3, F4 and, above all, I want everything manufactured in Lebanon. I plan to work on a city car, a car built for anyone. Affordable, economic and built to drive up to Faraya without issue. It’ll be efficient, weather tested and I might use hybrid engine technology, if I find it to be efficient enough. The twist though, is that it folds in.

Say what?

You heard me, it folds in. You drive to a parking space, press a button and the car’s size is reduced for parking.

You’re serious?

Absolutely. Give it some time, you’ll see what I mean! And it’ll be affordable. I plan on a retail price of less than $15,000. I’ll import the engines initially, but my main issue is to go step by step. I don’t know what’ll happen in Detroit, much may change. Who knows what opportunities will present themselves. I have to wait and go step by step and push for my plans.

What kind of time scale are we talking about?

I’m not sure. Five years, or maybe ten? Maybe sooner.

Well then, what’s your favorite place in Lebanon?

The higher the better. I’ve recently fallen in love with the areas surrounding Ajaltoun. I love Faraya as well. I love open spaces. If I wanted to buy an office, the first condition would be an open design. I love light, it makes the place feel alive, and me along with it. And as for Beirut, and although I say this a lot, I’m tired of the old ‘Switzerland of the east’ description. In my mind, Switzerland should be the Beirut of the west and be compared to us, not the other way round. Let’s work on that angle, shall we?

Right to left: leading minister, services minister, regular minister, governmental minister, citizen.

Armand Homsi has spent the better part of his life speaking out through cartoons. Known mostly for his contributions to An Nahar, he never shies away from speaking his mind.

How long have you been drawing?

I’ve worked at An Nahar for 13 years and before that I was in France – but I wasn’t drawing much there. In the ’80s I worked in Commerce du Liban for about four years. I worked there while I was in college and as far as first experiences go it was great. Before that it was the school newspaper, if that really counts.

You didn’t draw in France?

In Paris I worked as an interior designer, which is my actual field. I came back because of a competition that An Nahar held – I entered from Paris – and the prize was a job here. I initially started in Nahar el Shabeb but soon moved to An Nahar.

You left Paris for a competition? That’s a bit romantic.

It’s more that I left Lebanon in a bad way. I left in ’89 and that ought to ring a bell. The war had become especially violent then and I had a job opportunity. But at some point I needed to come back, I knew all along I would. It’s nice out there, for the first couple of years, a paradise perhaps. A button turns on a light, streets are clean, neat and no one thinks of politics. No one cares about politics. It’s a different world but you’re never really at ease.

So you’re back here, but why drawing?

It’s a daily cartoon and it’s fun. A lot happens around here and you always have topics. What I usually do, if the headline of the day isn’t a good start for an idea, is disregard it. Someone shook someone else’s hand, great news, bad cartoon. I try to be close to the news. If the big story is dull, I might use the second best, or something completely different. I keep myself in the loop with news and that’s how I can draw. The topics are fun to come up with and they keep me entertained.

So does the satire I’ll bet…

Political debate

Well, yeah, when you draw you don’t think of your audience; the drawing reflects me. I’m not a preacher. I’m expressing myself. Like the Christian reconciliation theme, you could just say something like: ‘Oh, Christians unite,’ and that’s fine. But I saw it as two kids fighting in a school, play fighting and calling the game ‘a Christian reconciliation’. It makes you laugh and explains what’s happening. It makes sense, comes together. My opinion is in there somewhere and this is the way I see it, in a very light way.

You’re not preaching, are you trying to help though?

I don’t try to preach at all. This is what I feel at that moment. When you start with ‘I want to do this for some reason or another’, I don’t think you do much. I just try to highlight what’s going wrong and from that point on the readers will get it in their own way.

Letting your characters do the dirty work…

I don’t actually have a trademark character. I don’t have a favorite anything in cartoons. Every cartoon is different.

How do you draw for 13 years and not get an emerging character?

Because characters are there to say something, to articulate. My cartoons are mute, mostly. Most of them have no characters involved whatsoever. It could be a shape, an object, a chair; who knows.

Do you tackle everything equally, or do you shy away from the edgier topics?

When I started here Jubran Tweini explicitly gave me carte blanche and I went with it. If it’s not local, I’ll look to regional. In 2005 you couldn’t do anything but internal politics for instance. It would just look wrong because it was everywhere. You can’t have a large protest on television and draw a comic about the Israeli-Palestinian struggle.

Have you ever gotten yourself into any serious trouble?

A couple of times. I had some trouble with an embassy once… but it’s usually a misunderstanding. You don’t mean to attack but people misread. My cartoons are everywhere because I don’t let them take sides. They are undeniably true.

And you yourself don’t take sides?

I try to be on the side of the citizen. Politicians take too much of the spotlight. OK, two politicians kiss and make up tomorrow morning, fantastic, but what about the people who died last night? What about their families? I mean, what do you really get from your politicians? They’re just players in an unstable game. I’m on the citizen’s side. Many cartoonists are.

Any of those you like in particular?

I like what Stavro does. This overlaps between friendship and admiration but you can tell he loves to draw. This is what makes a good cartoonist. I like Saad Hajo from Al Safir, you can see that he puts effort into his work.

Do you have a personal favorite work?

Among my own? Quite a few. You always feel happy while you’re drawing them and you know they’ll become favorites before you finish them. They just feel right.

Well we’ll wrap this up. What is your favorite place in Beirut?

Gemmayzeh. All of it. Hands down. Beirut is a place where I find myself.