A CONVERSATION WITH FILMMAKER MIKE ELSHERIF
What year(s) were you at the New Harmony Project?
I came to the New Harmony Project in 2022.
Can you talk about a favorite memory or two?
On the last night of NHP, another writer performed their play outside in the Roofless Church with minimal lighting under the moonlight. It was absolutely magical. The night felt like a dream, and I'll never forget it. Many experiences at NHP feel poetic, dream-like, and spiritual.
If you were asked to describe NHP to someone, how would you do it?
NHP is a wonderful summer camp for writers. You can relax, dive into your craft, and immerse yourself in your passion for writing. I enjoyed the structure of the days, which included a great combination of writing time and community time.
Where do you find inspiration for your writing?
Family dynamics and their relationship to the broader world fascinate me. I enjoy exploring these relationships because they form a foundation for how we view the world and shape our perspectives.
What other writers (in any genre) do you find inspiring?
I admire Richard Yates for his unflinching perspective on life, as well as David Eggers' portrayals of immigrants facing trauma.
What's your creative process/ritual?
I collect a lot of notes about the characters and the story, then try to figure out the structure and create notecards. Finally, when I'm ready, I move on to the scriptwriting phase. I complete the first draft as quickly as possible and then revise it.
What advice would you give to aspiring creatives?
Discover what truly resonates with you. Avoid following the conventional path most people take in your craft. Create your own journey. Live in an intriguing location and produce your work there; it will inspire you more than a big city.
Do you have a dream project that you're dying to work on?
I have a feature film set in a Middle Eastern restaurant that focuses on a Palestinian family and the role of food in their lives. I would love to see this project come to life. I had the opportunity to develop the script at the Rawi Screenwriters Program, and it would be an incredible thrill to bring it to fruition. We are about to begin production on a short film version of it.
Can you tell us a little bit about Maqluba?
"Maqluba" is a short narrative film centered on the relationship between a Palestinian-American grandmother and her granddaughter. Laila visits her grandmother in her new apartment during a powerful storm under the guise of helping her unpack. But her nefarious goals slowly unfold as they delve deeper into the mystical fateful night. They spend the evening together feasting on maqluba, reading Turkish coffee grounds, and coming to terms with past traumas. The film is a darkly comic, macabre Palestinian fable about two generations of immigrants struggling to deal with trauma, displacement, and life in the diaspora. I received support from the New Harmony Project for this project.