Rindala Kodieh:No kisses my husband is jealous!

Director and actor Rindala Kodieh started her career after being awarded at the University for her graduation project. She moved from acting to directing with firm steps, after passionate and in-depth studies, with a strong determination to enter a career full of difficulties and obstacles. She talked about herself and her job in an interview with 'Arabstoday'. Q. The director is believed not be an actor, do you agree with that? A.   On the contrary, I believe that the director can be a star and is able to play both roles together. Q. Since you believe in the director's stardom, where do you see yourself among the stars? A.  I do not know to what extent I could rate myself among stars. If only we have a fan club and are able to know how the audience react towards my acting that would be fine. Q. How would you describe your way of acting? A.  Although I have the talent of acting, my priority is direction at the moment. Since the director's face is not recognised, I believe that acting will serve the director inside me, as the audience will recognise my face. From this point of view, the idea started with director Antoine Remey in the series "Hekayat Amal" (Story of Hope). Q. As an actor, on what basis do you accept or reject a role offered to you? A . First of all, I have to feel the role of the character I am going to play and it has to add something to my acting career. I don't consider acting as a commercial job, and challenging roles provoke me. Q. What about daring roles? A.  If you mean kisses and nudity, of course I refuse such roles, because my husband is very jealous and perhaps he will kill the produce who asks me to do so. Acting is not my main goal. I have a production company in Lebanon and outside it as well. Q. Do you remember the first clip you signed as a director? A.  Sure, I do. It was my first professional step. It was Richard Milan's song ‘Aziza’ (‘Dear)’. Although the budget was low, I was able to produce a good result. Q. How do you deal with challenging roles? A.  I am trying to discover the feelings inside the song and to deliver them through the image and the sound in a harmonious way. Q. How do you consider the increasing number of directors on the scene lately? A . It is not a good thing, just for one reason: directors should have certain criteria to follow before naming himself "director." However, I cannot deny that there are creative directors on the scene. Q. Who is the singer you like to work with most? A.  A lot of singers like: Nawal Al-Zoghbi, Najwa Karam, Carole Samaha, Fadl Shaker and Ragheb Alama. Q. Why have you worked on small projects in direction recently? A . All directors as well are doing small works, and that is due to the political conditions the Arab world is going through. Q. In your opinion who is the best director nowadays? A . All, I do not like to mention names. Everybody has his ups and downs. Q. Many say you ask for a big budget to shoot a clip. Is it true? A . All lies. Who can believe that it takes 100 thousand to do a simple clip? People are being fooled, and the media as well, if they believe so. Q. What is the highest rate you received for a clip direction? A.  (She answers confidentially) 90 thousand dollars. Q. An entertainment programme reported that Lebanese clips typically steal from one another. What is your opinion? A.  I have seen that and none of my clips can be included. Q. Do you ever take any of your ideas from aboard? A.  Perhaps. For example, I took the idea of Nelly Makdessy's clip from "Pirates of the Caribbean," the movie starring Johnny Depp. The idea was there, but I do not believe mine was a proper copy of it. Q. Did you ever think to work for cinema? A.  Sure, cinema is among my ambitions. Recently I have shooted a movie, which will be launched on LBC TV, called 'Nadam' ('Regret'). It is a true story from the author Gibran Daher. It talks about women's rights and homeless children. It aims at bringing a social and humanitarian message.