From the sun-washed alleys of Ortigia to the wide, intact landscapes of Saudi Arabia: Razan Alsoghayer (Director, Saudi Arabia) and Zeeger Verschuren (Cinematographer, Netherlands) — two filmmakers shaped by their time at the CineCampus — share how the Terre di Cinema experience invigorated their passion for celluloid and led to the making of A Letter to Granddad, one of the first narrative projects shot on film stock in Saudi Arabia. These are the people of Terre di Cinema: young filmmakers bringing the world closer together through a shared love of cinema, craft, and creative exchange.

To  Razan: in Which Terre di Cinema Edition you joined the CineCampus? Can you briefly tell us about that experience?

I participated in the 2024 edition as part of the Directing department, after Zeeger’s recommended for me. To be very honest, It’s difficult to summarize such a rich and meaningful experience very briefly. The programme took place on Ortigia Island in Sicily, where participants from around the world came together to make films, learn from the place itself, develop stories around its unique landscape, and collaborate with an inspiring group of people who, in just a few days, came to feel like family.

To Zeeger: in Which Terre di Cinema Edition you joined the CineCampus? Can you briefly tell us about that experience? 

I took part in the 2021 edition of TDC, which happened during the tail end of the COVID period, so things weren’t quite back to 100% yet. Still, being in such a beautiful place in Sicily, surrounded by like-minded people from all over the world, was very exciting. The program had a great balance between group activities, like masterclasses, and individual time to develop your short film with your partner. The intensity of work during the day and shared fun at night created strong bonds among the participants, many of whom I’m still in touch with today.

To Razan: After attending the CineCampus you decided to shoot on film your following project titled “A letter to Granddad” .  Why have you made such a decision? Can you tell us the genesis of such project?

After finishing the short I made during TDC 2024, I felt a strong urge to tell a more personal story and to shoot it on film. That decision came naturally with A Letter to Granddad, a project about my blind grandfather. Film felt like the right medium, not just for its texture and depth, but because of how poetically it connects to his world. It relies on touch, cannot see light, and only comes to life in the dark. That mirrored something intimate and invisible about how he experienced life. Shooting on film also brought me back to scenes from my own childhood, the warmth, the stillness, the grain of memory, which digital simply cannot capture in the same way. On a broader level, I also wanted to bring this culture of working with film back to Saudi Arabia, where barely any projects have ever been shot on film, especially in my region. It felt important to introduce that kind of visual language to stories from home.

To Zeeger: As a cinematographer, how did you approach the idea of shooting A Letter To Gradddad on film? What were the practical implications in terms of preproduction for you and your department? 

The idea of shooting Letter To Granddad on film came quite early on. Razan, I believe, just finished TDC and obviously fell in love with shooting on film. Since the film was meant to feel like a reflection on the past, we wanted to evoke a sense of nostalgia tied to the place she grew up and 16mm felt almost inevitable.
As we are currently prepping for a bigger project together that we consider shooting on film, this self funded short was a great opportunity to test shooting in a country where film is rarely used.
The crew was essentially just Razan and me. We prepped the camera in Amsterdam and flew with all the gear and film stock to Saudi Arabia. It felt quite adventurous as we had no idea how border control would react to all those film cans, but everything went very smoothly.

To Razan: A Letter to Granddad is one of the first shoot on film in Saudi Arabia.  And it’s a woman director who made it happen. How do you feel about it?

While only a handful of projects have been shot on film in Saudi. For me, the most meaningful part isn’t just being one of the first people to bring this medium into narrative storytelling. It’s having something concrete to show producers in the future and say, “Look, it’s beautiful. The process wasn’t scary. We did it.” That’s what matters to me. A lot of producers are still intimidated by shooting on film, especially when it comes to things like airport security, which is often unfamiliar with film stock. But interestingly, we were surprised by how curious and open the security staff were. Experiences like that make the process feel even more possible.

To Zeeger: A Letter to Granddad is the first shoot on film ever happened to Saudi Arabia.  What was your shooting strategy during the shoot? Can you tell us anything about your camera crew and the rest of your team?

Razan knew a local cameraman, Wael Baqer, who was keen to help and learn about film. He was incredibly helpful with all the practical matters and even had a few Aputure lights for the interior scenes. Luckily, my AC, Thijs van Geenhuijzen, helped me prep the camera back in Amsterdam at Camalot (who were a huge help!) and also did the steady-test. But once in Saudi, I had to manage myself, which was a good challenge.

We had three rolls of Kodak 7213 and one roll of 7219, shooting on the Arriflex 416 with an Angénieux 7–81mm and the Laowa 12mm for macro shots. I usually had two magazines prepped per shooting day, which was enough most of the time, though occasionally I had to reload on location.

One lingering worry was the fine dust in Saudi, which I feared might sneak into the camera. So, I neurotically cleaned it every single day, but all was fine in the end.

We scanned the footage in 2K at Haghefilm in the Netherlands. And as film always seems to amaze us, when the scans came back, the results were even better than we could’ve imagined. 

To Razan: Do you plan any other projects coming up on film next? 

Yes, actually I do have a project in development now, which I plan to shoot on 16mm.

To Zeeger: Do you plan any other projects coming up on film next?

Nothing solid at the moment. I’m currently in early talks for a feature film that we hope to shoot on 35mm, but it could still go in any direction.

photo credits: Sakinah Ali