Teens at the heart of Jinn

Cast of Netflix's first Arabic series talk about the significance of their coming-of-age thriller

"I hope people in Dubai enjoy watching Jinn as much as we did filming it," says Salma Malhas, who plays the lead in the first ever original Arabic series by Netflix that premiered in Dubai and other parts of the world on June 13.
Malhas plays Mira, a teenager who unknowingly summons a Jinn when she goes on a school trip to the ancient city of Petra.
"We learnt so much about ourselves and the characters that we created while filming the show and I'm sure teenagers in the region too will identify with the characters," the young actress tells City Times.
The series, a modern-day take inspired by Middle Eastern folklore, puts into focus several issues faced by today's youngsters. The adventure thriller was filmed in the exotic locales of Jordan, mostly Petra.
Executive produced by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, the twin brothers who are the visual effects specialists behind hit American shows like Scandal and Justified, Jinn is directed jointly by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and Amin Matalqa. The plot follows the adventures a group of teenagers who encounter two Jinns. The storyline is loosely themed on the good vs evil premise with each Jinn assuming one of the qualities. However, there are several layers to the story and its primary focus is on coming-of-age issues like relationships, angst, rebellion, bullying and other issues faced by teens.
The show introduces a bunch of talented fresh faces from Jordan, and besides Malhas, the other central characters are Hamzeh Okab, who grew up in Dubai and plays the Jinn Keras, Sultan Alkhail who plays Yassin, a youngster from a dysfunctional family who is a victim of persistent bullying and Aysha Shahaltough, who portrays Vera. Jinn also stars Yasser Al Hadi, Ban Halaweh and Faris Al Bahri and others.
City Times travelled to Amman for the grand launch of the show that was attended by Princess Rym al-Ali, wife of Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan and Interim Managing Director and Member of its Board of Commissioners of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan. The five-part series is being streamed across 190 countries and dubbed in seven languages, including Hindi, French and Portuguese, and subtitled in 20 languages. Excerpts from our chat with the lead actors and directors of Jinn: 
I worked very hard on my character: Salma Malhas (who plays Mira)
What changes can a show like Jinn bring about in this region?
I feel it's important to have shows like Jinn because youngsters like us can relate to such shows and identify ourselves with the various characters in the series. This show will help young people dive deeper into their culture, something that I regret not being able to do earlier because of my Western conditioning. I used to watch purely foreign films and was not aware of my own culture. I think films and TV can play a huge part in developing and imparting culture.
Is this your first time on screen?
I have never acted professionally, besides working in a few plays in school. But before this show, I attended some method acting workshops conducted by the Lee Strasberg Institute and that really helped me a lot in developing my skills as an actor.
How did you prepare for the role?
I worked very hard on my character - on how she (Mira) walks, talks and behaves. I would look at my sister (for inspiration), she's more like my character in Jinn - aggressive, brimming with confidence, but she also had a soft side to her. I related Mira to a monkey, she was very monkey-like in her physicality - the way she walked, how she moved. I recollect in one of the scenes in the last episode of show, before I could go on set, I would literally stand like a monkey on all my fours to get into my character (laughs).
Is there a message for teenage girls in Jinn?
Yes. Jinn will encourage more girls to take up acting. I recollect when I was asked in college to name one woman (actor) from the region I idolised as a youngster, I could no think of anyone, not a single name from here because all my favourites were stars from Western countries. No teen girls from our region were doing anything like what I am currently doing. That's what made me realise the importance of Jinn for young girls. They can now identify with my character on screen and can look forward to taking up acting as a career. 
Jinn has a special place in my heart: Aysha Shahaltough (as Vera)
Did you have any supernatural experiences while working on Jinn?
I dream of supernatural elements all the time. And I would love to see the supernatural become real. My experiences stem from the time I was growing watching supernatural movies. That's what has been triggering my experiences.
Did you ever think you'd be working in this series?
Never. who would have imagined that Netflix would do a show on Jordanian teens, and that we would be a part of this show. Jinn has a special place in my heart. 
Is Jinn a scarefest?
No it isn't. It's not a horror show, it's more of a thriller, you could call it suspense. Jinn is not scary for viewers, but it is for the actors. And that's because the characters are going through life-changing experiences while some of their friends are dying.
Where did you draw inspiration for your role as Vera?
I tried to find Vera within me. I started looking at what I wanted Vera to be. I enjoyed shaping her in my own way rather than ape someone else.
Any message for viewers in Dubai?
I hope in future there will be a show in the emirates that represents young adults, like Jinn. And I hope that youngsters in Dubai will enjoy our show.
Netflix denounces controversy over Jinn
Though Jinn debuted worldwide with much fanfare, it has sparked uproar in Jordan where it is set.
State-run media reported that the thriller's release prompted condemnation from several government officials who vowed to censor it for alleged "lewd scenes" that purportedly violate public morals. Jordan's army website says the cyber-crimes unit is attempting to pull it from Jordanian Netflix. But it was unclear whether the government would make good on the threats. Netflix Middle East denounced the controversy on Twitter as a "wave of bullying." In a statement, Netflix said the show deals with "universal themes" that "can be viewed as provocative." Content removals are rare but that Netflix complies with official requests.
"Jinn seeks to portray the issues young Arabs face as they come of age, including love, bullying and more. We understand that some viewers may find it provocative but we believe that it will resonate with teens across the Middle East and around the world," Netflix said in a statement sent to City Times.
"We've invested heavily in creative communities around the world - supporting local storytellers and production in many different countries. Jinn shows the beauty of Jordan and the wonders of Petra. And we're excited to bring both familiar and new perspectives to international audiences that may not know much about the Arab world," the statement added.  AP/with inputs from Michael Gomes
I have lots of friends in Dubai: Hamzeh Okab (Keras)
We heard you have a Dubai connection, can you tell us a bit about that?
Yes. I grew up in Dubai and lived there for 14 years. I come there very often since I have family in the emirate.
You must be having many friends in Dubai, are they happy to see you on screen?
Oh yes, very much! I have lots of friends in Dubai and they have told me that they are excited about Jinn and waiting to watch me on screen. I too am waiting for their feedback on the show and my work in the series. Since Dubai is a multicultural place, I want everyone to see the show, all nationalities, it'll be dubbed in English and many other foreign languages (including Hindi). We did the dubbing in English ourselves, which makes the version more authentic.
Why would you want teens to see this show?
We worked very hard for this show. It took us a year to make Jinn since the audition stage. Teenagers from Arab countries will easily relate to the different characters in the show. I hope there will be more such shows to attract Arab teenagers, shows that they can relate to.
How did you prepare for your role?
We have applied a lot of method acting techniques. In fact on set, none of us used to call each other by our real names instead we used address each other by our character names, like people used to call me Keras not Hamzeh. So when I used to get home after the filming, when my mum would call me by my real name and I just wouldn't respond because I got so used to being called Keras. It's difficult in the beginning, but a few weeks later you kind of get used to it. I also loved filming in Petra, it's an amazing place!
Arab world not represented in an accurate way: Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya (director)
How was the support you received for Jinn in Jordan?
The Royal Film Commission - Jordan works hard to bring huge productions to the country. This place offers good facilities and incentives for filmmakers, and I hope other Arab countries too will provide us incentives to make films.
What attracted you to this series?
We wanted to bring a show that was as authentic to the country. This was also an opportunity to work with Netflix and that too on a new show in Arabic. I am from Lebanon, and the first thing I asked (Netflix) for is to relocate me to Jordan. I wanted to know and learn about the city; what Petra is all about and a bit about teenagers in Jordan. I found a lot of similarities between teenagers from Arab countries and those from other parts of the world, except for one thing - we were not being represented in an accurate way around the world.
Can series like Jinn change the perspective of youngsters in the region?
You know, teenagers in the region are not watching much of Arabic content these days, they're mostly watching Western stuff. I feel as filmmakers we need to work on that and come up with good content for them.
What challenges did you face in Jinn?
Bringing the show to life was the biggest challenge for us. It's a new genre - teen adventure. I have never worked on this genre before. Moreover, the cast was fresh.
How did you go about adding various layers to the story, it has many dimensions?
I got my inspiration from the Arab world. We come across such issues a daily. Teenagers have many shades of emotions, it's literally three dimensional, and they are my central character and I wanted to capture these emotions through them in Jinn. This is what set the tone of the show. Teens are the heart of Jinn.
Any plans to do a show in or about Dubai in the near future?
I hope so. We are developing four new shows, two of them from Gulf countries, I can't talk more about that now, but I hope Dubai will be one of them. We are aiming to develop and create content from the Arab world and give a voice to stories from this region.
I would love to film in Dubai: Amin Matalqa (co-director/writer)
What was your biggest challenge in Jinn?
None really. But if I had to point out to one it was bringing the script to life. We had the budget and the outline, but we needed to work on the tone of the show. So that was kind of challenging. We had to make a show not only to satisfy Arabic audiences, but also global viewers. Moreover, we had to compete with big shows on other platforms as well as on Netflix.
What kind of impact will Jinn have?
I don't expect Jinn to be a game changer, like the runway hit Game of Thrones, but at least it's a stepping stone in the right direction.
Have you been to Dubai, would you consider filming there?
Actually, I would love to film in Dubai. My brother flies for Emirates and I live in Los Angeles so I often travel via Dubai. The architecture in Dubai is amazing, the place is so cinematic and I would love to make a movie in the emirate some time in the future.
I was one of the first to be cast in the show:  Sultan Alkhail (who plays Yassin)
What a coincidence. It happens to be your birthday and the launch of Jinn, are you excited?
Yes, I'm super excited, big time. In fact, I was the first member (Aysha interrupts to inform that she too was among the first to be selected) to be cast in the show. What better can I ask for.
Why is Jinn important for the region?
When you watch Hollywood movies and whenever the Middle East is portrayed it's always showcased in a stereotypical manner - the pyramids in Egypt, a camel in the background, a guy sitting in a chair smoking a sheesha. Honestly, whenever I see such scenes in movies, I get annoyed, because that might have been the case 50 years or so ago, but not anymore. The region has modernized a lot since then, we now have a show (Jinn) that's going to tell the world we are not what you think we were, we are normal people like anyone else, we live our lives like anyone else. And that stereotypical image that world has of us has to change.
 
michael@khaleejtimes.com