Local director makes movie to dispel Muslim stereotypes
Edreace Purmul directs Mozlym, a film that dispels stereotypes about Muslims
Moviemaking on a barebones budget is tough. But 26-year-old San Diego resident Edreace Purmul has done it with his first movie, Mozlym.
Purmul took the experiences of real individuals and weaved them together in his script. He addressed three stereotypes he felt were causing prejudice against Muslims. The first one was jihad’s various definitions—a holy war or a process of self-improvement through personal struggle. The second stereotype was terrorism and politics. Purmul said that a lot of terrorist acts and other problems are essentially more political than religious. The third stereotype was the issue of Muslim women, whom he says do not feel constrained and oppressed by Islam.
Purmul graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and minor in Film and Media.
Q: What were the challenges of filming on a low budget? How did it limit the technology you used?
A: We didn’t have the best of technology. We shot in standard definition. There is high definition and standard definition. Standard definition is more economical. We had decent cameras. We had to improvise a lot. We had to be more creative. We had to take a handful of money and do more with it than what was standard for that kind of a budget.
Q: What technologies did you use?
A: We used the regular Power Mac with Final Cut Pro to edit the movie. Final Cut Pro catered to the quality of the movie. We manipulated filters and toners to create a surreal mood.
Q: Can you explain how new tools have facilitated moviemaking?
A: Technology has made things very easy. Now you have entire computer-generated worlds. A film where the storyline can span ten galaxies can be made inside a warehouse where the computer can generate all the necessary environments, settings and other elements that used to be handmade inside a studio. Before we had that technology, we had to create costumes, set designs and utilize camera techniques to create these worlds.
Q: How has the movie business changed since the creation of new technologies?
A: Once a new technology is created, it’s just natural for people to use it as much as they can. With the creation of computer-generated film, you saw a whole wave of movies where there were massive computer-generated armies and worlds and it focused on technologies. The original recipe of a movie—a good story—would be compromised. You would get films that were amazing with their technological achievements but people did not respect the film because it was a bad movie.
Q: One theory claims that American culture and cultural values are transmitted globally through media. What role has technology played in transmitting this culture?
A: Technology is allowing accessibility to any type of material there is. If it is marketed and advertised correctly, it will be in the households of people all over the world. Western media has a strong hold and their films are more appealing. The history of filmmaking started in the US. The French, Italians and Europeans contributed to filmmaking but the US had the market first and they were the pioneers in filmmaking.
The American culture is more envied, and more appealing because America is the strongest politically. They are more of a hub for the decisions being made throughout the world. Because of that, they can control their own media, and have a stronger sense of expression without consequences. Because of that, they are the first images people saw on the screen—Americans riding bicycles or eating hot dogs.
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