So far, I made two feature films
where main actresses have been wearing a headscarf
and it was quite a challenge for them
because, you know, wearing a headscarf means
that some physical qualities of you, as a woman
are not there anymore
I knew that both my actresses were fighting with the fact
that they have to really show everything in their eyes
They had to really have a very rich inner world
in order to express it only through their face
Another thing is that the costume, it was quite hard
to keep the character, with all the qualities
to keep the beauty of the actress and at the same time
to cover her properly
To put a headscarf is quite a big step
for your spiritual development, but also for your form
the form that you are appearing in the outside world
For me, I struggle a lot to find myself
in this new costume, let's say
I'm a bit embarrassed, you know, watching my old photos
and how I looked at my beginnings
because it's obvious that I wasn't really sure
how to be like a proper covered Muslim woman
and how to stay like a punk rock young woman at the same time
I used to wear different layers
and looked really ridiculous from time to time
and my parents used to tease me
because they didn't like the fact that I covered myself
and that I looked horrible on the top of everything
I didn't look attractive, or fashionable, or elegant at all
So I had many fights to fight at the same time
in myself and around me
As a teenager, I was against the world I was living in
so I used to paint my hair into color blue
and I used to wear these kind of strange things
in my ears and around my neck
And putting a headscarf came from this same need
to resist these terrible corporate, capitalistic moods
and injustice and materialism itself
so I never felt that I betrayed my punk rock personality
Putting a headscarf is not lobotomy
It doesn't mean that your character, that your temper will change
It just means that you will enter in another frame
but your essence will remain the same
I think that clothing should follow this fact
And if you betray everything, who you were before
I think that you will suffer
Sooner or later, you will find yourself
in a surrounding that you are against
or that you are not comfortable with
Whenever I am preparing the shooting, I wear black again
It's a kind of uniform that will protect me
from the outside world
and it makes me feel more strong
And I look really, I guess I look more strong
I think that once when I come to the level
to direct in a colorful skirt
it will mean that I'm completely relaxed with what I do
What I like about Islam is the fact
that it doesn't request that you erase yourself from this world
It asks from you to make a balance
between this and another world
that is something that you hope for, like eternity
In the meantime, I enjoy dealing with these material aspects
of the creation of God
So I think that I don't go against the spirituality
by making art
I think it's a kind of celebration of spirituality to deal with art