Syrian extras, a Chinese film crew: The ghost district of the Damascene suburb of Hajar al-Aswad, from which the Islamic State group was evicted in 2018, has become an action setting for a production by the kung fu star of Hong Kong Jackie Chan.
Operation Start, whose script mentions only a fictional country called “Poman”, is inspired by the 2015 evacuation of hundreds of Chinese citizens and foreigners from China from the Yemen war aboard Chinese navy ships. Beijing later boasted about the success of the operation, underscoring its humanitarian role and growing global influence.
Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula and still torn by war, is considered too dangerous and therefore some scenes in the film, co-produced by the United Arab Emirates, are shot in Syria.
Absent Jackie Chan
A motley crew of actors in traditional Yemeni garb, Syrian extras and Chinese film crew members were on hand from Thursday for a shoot expected to last several days.
Jackie Chan will not travel to Syria to participate in the shooting, but he is the main producer of what the synopsis of the film presents as a blockbuster that intends to salute the role of the Chinese authorities in a heroic evacuation. Yinxi Song, the director, confirms the laudatory intention of the film.
“We put ourselves in the shoes of the Communist Party diplomats, who braved a deluge of bullets in a war-torn country and brought all Chinese compatriots back to a country warship, safe and sound,” he said. he explained to the press, when his team moved to Hajar al-Aswad, and the tanks took up positions to film.
The Chinese ambassador, one of the few countries that has maintained good diplomatic relations with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011, was present at the shooting launch on Thursday during a small ceremony. . Peace Lovewe could read for the occasion on a banner hung from the front of a tank.
“cheap studio”
Hajar al-Aswad was once a densely populated southern suburb of Damascus, near the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. Both areas were the scene of fierce fighting during the war and were controlled, at least partially, by the Islamic State jihadist group.
The reconquest of the two neighborhoods by Syrian pro-government forces in May 2018 marked the resumption of all of Damascus by the regime. But entire sections of Hajar al-Aswad have been completely leveled, turning the neighborhood into a soulless jungle of gray buildings.
Some residents returned to the less damaged parts of the city, leaving the rest completely uninhabited.
“War-torn areas have been turned into studios. These areas attract film producers,” says co-director Rawad Chahine, who is part of the Syrian film crew. “Building similar studies in these areas is very expensive, so they are considered low-cost studies,” he adds.
Since 2011, Syria has already attracted several foreign productions, in particular from Russia and Iran, two countries allied with the Syrian regime.
The film crew of Operation Start plans to film in multiple locations around the country. Syria, however, continues to be subject to a series of international sanctions and anti-personnel mines, spread throughout the country, are wreaking havoc there, making it the country most affected in the world by these explosive devices according to the UN. The conflict in Syria has claimed half a million lives and displaced millions.
Source: BFM TV
