NEW SG Interview: Julian Schnabel – Miral0

by Fred Topel

Julian Schnabel has never made easy films. Basquiat was a biography of the street artist who became a protege of Andy Warhol. Before Night Falls portrayed exiled gay author Reinaldo Arenas. And The Diving Bell and the Butterfly told the story of author Jean-Dominique Bauby – all from the point of view of the one eye from which he could see after a paralyzing stroke.

Miral is a story set in the midst of the Israeli-Palestine conflict, told through the eyes of a Palestinian girl. Miral (Freida Pinto) grows up in a Palestinian orphanage, where her teacher, Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass), encourages her to stay out of politics. But young activists in the PLO like Hani (Omar Metwally) are powerful examples to Miral, and she wants to get involved.

Schnabel’s fourth film has upset Israeli groups even before its release. It premiered at the United Nations General Assembly Chamber on March 14, despite an outcry from The American Jewish Committee, who claim the film is one sided and anti-Israeli. The Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International also protested the premiere, where, inside, Rabbi Irwin Kula and Israeli Air Force Reserves pilot Yonatan Shapira (who refused to fly attack missions on Palestinian territories in 2003) joined Schnabel and author Rula Jebreal for a discussion.

Schnabel is comfortable talking about touchy subjects because he’s pretty well able to control the conversation. Back in L.A., sitting in a conference room at his Hollywood PR firm’s office, Schnabel spoke slowly and carefully, sharing one thought at a time until suddenly you realized he’d filled a whole page.

Read our exclusive interview with Julian Schnabel on SuicideGirls.com.