Miami Living Magazine

ML40 17-32_Layout 1 9/28/13 6:48 PM Page 26 ON THE SCENE The Next Big Thing Meet Ayoub Qanir, a new and exciting Miami-based film visionary Words by Martin Haro | Photo credit Joe Perri The world of Koyatkasi was born from an original idea by Qanir and realized through the latest in film technology in Europe. Ayoub Qanir sees things that we don't – a talent that obviously serves him well as an up-andcoming filmmaker with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. A Casablanca-born, Madrid-raised Miamian, UM grad Qanir is an intriguing fella (the lot in life of the creative type). He's studying nanotechnology at Harvard, you know…to complement the degrees in business, and art direction and design, and film direction (from the Lee Strasberg School in Los Angeles) he already has under his belt. His varied interests have converged on screen, to striking effect, in a short series titled Human After All that featured Daft Punk and, most recently, in Koyakatsi, a boundary-pushing proof-of-concept trailer you can check out on his Vimeo @ayoubqanir. Without further ado, we give you Ayoub Qanir. Miami Living: Tell us about yourself. Have you always loved film? Ayoub Qanir: I started making short films with my best friends in my backyard at a very young age, using my parents' Handycam…always depicting a hero unaccepting of his conditions, pushed into unfamiliar grounds through immense challenges as he tried to impose his vision. I have always been fascinated by all things film – from American neo-escapism and fantasy adventures to French renaissance cinema…. To epic adventures with a natural sense of style…. To pictures that fill you with a sense of drive and journey and stories that instilled so deep in me the feeling and urge to recreate those same emotion-driven images for a future generation of moviegoers, as well as the wish to become part of a greater loop. ML: I read once that one should go to college first to study for a career and then go back and study what one loves. Has that been your trajectory? 26 MIAMI LIVING AQ: In a sense – although I would call it a natural evolution…an almost inevitable path. Having acquired the skill to ignite entrepreneurial value and maximize budgets at the University of Miami has definitely benefited my production endeavors. I truly feel my background in business and finance has made my push through the entangled film business a smoother process. And my current pursuit at Harvard is facilitating my understanding of high-concept scientific research and synthesis. ML: Your calling card has been your series Human After All. Tell us about those shorts and how you came to work with Daft friggin' Punk? AQ: I would not call them a calling card, but I did have a great time working with them and Lemon magazine, with whom I worked as a creative director. Once I joined the magazine I saw an opportunity to shed light on their lucid past issues and books, and two arduous years later, these three shorts – "Man," "Love," and "Nature" – were born. We worked with the Punks to achieve a great musical, futurist piece depicting a future where all that is left of mankind is information stored and safeguarded by launching it into space. Naming the series Human After All was in homage to Daft Punk's 2005 record of the same name. ML: What is Koyakatsi ? AQ: From the ancient Uto-Aztecan Hopi language, it means "life in balance." The project is a proposal for a new shape of media: a narrative that expands into several forms and outlets. So Koyakatsi is, in a way, an attempt to conquer a challenge of how an independent filmmaker can create a high-concept project with scope and value. With it I am also trying to expose novel and ventured scientific data and discoveries under a coat of appeal and robotic marvel. After two long years of development and production, I can say we were able to create an original world filled with science, grit, and magic. Koyakatsi is now out of our hands as we will patiently allow for it to grow and connect with its audience. ML: Watching it I got a Kerry Conran vibe…you know, the guy who created Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow entirely with green screens. I mean, obviously, you're creating this world using some cutting-edge technology, but, like Conran, you have this awesome and thoroughly modern indie feel. Give us an insight into the making of Koyakatsi. AQ: The process started with a 120-page script based on my research on the break into augmented intelligence. I took my script and partnered with Swedish fantasy painter Kilian Eng, who assisted me in conceiving the world and concept scene. I processed and synthesized all the canvases with the Norwegian design studio Toxic. Once the mood and style of Koyakatsi were established, I traveled to Warsaw, to connect with a brilliant visual effects supervisor who introduced me to newly developed CGI softwares with which we built our super-realistic sets. The challenge for us was to avoid any preconceived sci-fi notions or designs and keep the world we were creating grounded in familiar landscapes and aesthetics. ML: Who are you influences, who do you want to work with, where do you want to go with your film career? Is the goal to turn Koyakatsi into a feature-length film? Is a Kickstarter on the horizon? AQ: My true ambition is to develop a visual language that understands and connects with a generation, and bring in real value to our socio-sphere. As a filmmaker, you wish to be as relevant as the audience willing to absorb your work. I am hoping to one day have as subtle an influence into world intellect as great minds and auteurs Claude Sautet, Jean-Pierre Melville, Godard, David Lean, or Michael Curtis. At this moment, I am allowing for Koyakatsi to breathe for a second, as we consider options within the studio system. ML

• C1
• C2
• ML40 1-16
• ML40 17-32
• ML40 33-48
• ML40 49-64
• ML40 65-80
• ML40 81-96
• C3
• C4_Cover