'Suddenly, and how ironic that it should happen with you of all people, I found in my voice a true love of homeland. I had to sit with a Palestinian guy on the freezing steps of City Hall in Brooklyn in order to admit to myself how attached I am to Israel. I had to go all the way to New York so that you, with the nostalgia of one born to a refugee family, who grew up with the ongoing longing for the landscapes that surrounded me throughout my whole life, would describe them to me. Far from them, by your side, I loved them perhaps more than ever.'

'The Indian owner of the cigarette stand on West 4th Street, for example: To me he would sell the daily packet with impassive politeness; in your presence, he turned into a glib conjurer with a mysterious expression, who juggled with his fingers and pulled the change out of his left ear.'

-From 'The Exile's Return' by Dorit Rabinyan

Sourcing the Inspiration

Started tracking Hassan's footsteps in earnest yesterday by walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan, I wanted to get a feel first hand for the places that inspired his drawings. One of my favourite images from 'Hassan Everywhere' is the magic train out of which Hassan flies on his way to a glittering city. For me, this is clearly inspired by the neo-gothic architecture of the Brooklyn Bridge. I made my way to the Lower East Side, looking for the Cairo Cafe on East Houston, but sadly Mohammed Ouda's establishment seems to have fallen prey to Bloomberg's anti-smoking laws (they made 75% of their income from Hookah sales), and a kebab shop stands in the place where one of the most poignant scenes in the film takes place. I ended the night walking to E.8th Street in the East Village, where Dorit and Hassan met, and walked along the tree lined sidewalks where the first scene of the film takes place.

Brooklyn

Everything here is a photo op. You put the camera down for two seconds and you miss something. Since I got here I've mostly been in Brooklyn staying with Shivers, but been downtown in Manhattan and out to Hoboken N.J. as well. Was pretty fried yesterday, but happy with some impromptu shots I got just buzzing about town. Today I'm going to head out the East Village to start looking for Dorit and Hassan's hangouts, and whatever texture comes my way in the meantime.

A Story about Friendship

I first heard the name Hassan Hourani in Dorit Rabinyan's article 'The Exile's Return' in the Guardian in April 2004. Since then I've been trying to find a way to tell the story of their friendship, and in a style which reflects Dorit's prose and Hassan's drawings. In June of this year that opportunity arose. The film was commissioned by the 'Frameworks' scheme, a joint initiative of the Irish Film Board, RTE and The Arts Council of Ireland. This will be my fifth Frameworks film, and without doubt the most challenging to date. I set out from the start to reflect the true life circumstances with began with their meeting in late 2002 up until Hassan's untimely death in summer 2003 as faithfully as possible. To this end, I am retracing their footsteps, from the initial meeting on 8th Avenue in New York, through Hassan's home in Ramallah, and ultimately to the beach at Jaffa in Israel where Hassan drowned. I have been aided immeasurably in getting to this point by Dorit herself, Hassan's brothers Khaled and Mahmoud, as well as the Hourani family and Khaled's colleagues at the Palestine Art Academy. Preproduction begins this week, and my first step takes me to New York this friday to visit and film the places where Dorit and Hassan lived and worked.