The Last Passenger directed by Mounes Khammer has been selected out of 1600 films to compete in the 6th National Film Board of Canada online contest, in association with the Cannes Short Film Corner. 10 films are available to view through the NFB youtube channel, and the film with the most positive votes will win.
In 2004, Mounes was chosen by FEMIS to take part in their international workshop and subsequently formed his production company Saphina , the first to be run by a young filmmaker in Algeria. He has worked extensively in the Algerian film industry in many capacities including artistic and production director.
Discover Mounes latest film, which tells the story of a young man who decides to take his life and in that moment we discover his two impossible loves: a woman and the stage of a concert hall.
In conversation with Mounes Khammer
Iain: How did you bring your crew together to shoot your film?
Mounes: I'm a producer, with my production company SAPHINA, which has existed for more than five years. By preparing this project for over one year, I could develop a financial package and convince more professionals to participate in the adventure. The team with whom I had already worked with is all-professional, so, the network did the rest.
The Last Passenger
Iain: Where did you shoot in Algeria?
Mounes: Mainly the inner city of Algiers, Telemly, La Madrague and the National Theatre of Algiers
Iain: What were the most memorable moments of the shoot?
Mounes: It was a really special shooting, and the first day was the one in which Algeria was qualified for the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. We shot in a fantastic atmosphere, where all Algerian citizens didn t stop laughing and partying during all the filming. We also did a great job of logistics to meet our work plan, and also on the sound editing, the film crew was very tired because of the constant noise of the crowd day and night, but they were still happy to be in the World Cup, which was a very special motivation.
Iain: How did you apply for the NFB Online contest through the short film corner and where can we vote for your film?
Mounes: I have not applied! I ve joined my only film with the 1600 movie Short film corner and one day the ONF programmer had contacted me that I was among the ten finalists of the competition online Cannes 2010. I was really happy for the film and especially for all the team that made this film possible! A big thank you to some great actors who had a long career on TV and in theatre and for whom this film was their first cinematic outing, and especially a tribute to technicians who were asked to miss the match for the shooting!
Iain: Do you have any other films in pre-production we should know about?
Mounes: I am preparing my first feature film, but it's still the very beginning, when I know what it will look like, I'll keep you posted !
To find out more about Mounes: http://www.myspace.com/mounes_khammar
