Burhan Qurbani on His ‘No Beast. So Fierce’: ‘Freedom Is Something That Is Reserved for Them, the White German Society, Not for Us’
In Burhan Qurbani’s “No Beast. So Fierce,” which premiered in Berlinale Special, Shakespeare’s “Richard III” is reimagined in a modern setting as the tale of an Arab gangster queen named Rashida who becomes the boss of the Berlin underworld.
It’s the fifth feature from German-born Qurbani, who is the son of political refugees from Afghanistan and previously made a splash with hard-hitting social dramas such as “We Are Young. We Are Strong” and his adaptation of Alfred D?blin’s classic novel “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” which he set in the African refugee community of present-day Berlin.
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The director spoke to Variety about launching “Beast” on the eve of Germany’s politically heated elections and working with Germany-based Syrian actress Kenda Hmeidan, who plays Rashida, and “Succession” star Hiam Abbass, whose character plays Rashida’s bodyguard and is also an assassin.
The film’s main character has been described as a present-day female Arab gangster. It clearly says a lot about the patriarchy. Talk to me about the subtext of the story.
The overall theme is the first word that the main character, Rashida, screams out in the movie, which is “Freedom!” What does it mean to be free as a woman in a certain community? And how can she express her desire to feel free? Or how can she free herself? Empower herself? Of course Rashida is also a very cruel character. Obviously she’s traumatized, and she’s very willing to pass on this trauma through violence. So she kind of creates a circle of violence and destruction within the story. And it’s all connected to her experience as a migrant, but also as a survivor of war.
Talk to me about casting Kenda Hmeidan, an actress who fled from Syria, in the lead role of Rashida.
Kenda came to Germany in 2016. It was the Syrian civil war that made it possible for her to come from Damascus to Berlin. So she found a way to express herself and her themes on stage without using her native language, but using German instead, on stage. And I think that you can see that. I think that she wants to carry some of her experiences as somebody who lost her country, who lost her home, who had to build something new, in her physical acting, and in the way she talks and how she expresses herself.
What was it like working with Hiam Abbass?
Initially I was completely star struck and even a bit surprised that she would meet, and then work with me since I am, I guess, known in Germany, but I’m not like a huge international director. But she’s extremely humble, and also very well-trained, so she really helped me to understand my script better. And as an actress she has this aura that you cannot avert your eyes from her the moment she’s on screen.
Talk to me about the rather complex character that Abbass plays.
She’s bold, she’s like a mother to Rashida. But she’s also a henchman. I mean, she’s a bodyguard and also an assassin. And at the same time, she’s a little — how can I put it ? — vulnerable. Even though Abbass has a supporting role, her character is the main catalyst for the development of Rashida.
Your movie is premiering in Berlin a week before national elections at which the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is expected to make big gains. What are your thoughts?
The AfD are projected to have as much as a quarter of all of the votes. That means that a quarter of all voters are electing a party that looks at people like me with anger, with distrust.
And for somebody like me, who grew up in this country and who has identified as much more German than Afghan, it feels it’s like a punch in the face. It gives me a feeling of insecurity and fear. And also like a sense of betrayal. We’ve spent all of our lives here. We built our lives here. We have to build ourselves up and work within a country that doesn’t seem to want us anymore. In Rashida’s first monologue in the movie, she says: “We came here because you promised us something. And now we’ve realized that this promise was always connected to a double-standard.” That freedom is something that is reserved for them, you know, the white German society, not for us.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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