![]() “Before moving to Sedona in 1994, my family and I moved back and forth from the western U.S. “It was especially detrimental to me, because this was going to affect me in ways that many of the people in my school couldn’t really understand.”Īmid the rise of Islamic extremism in the Muslim world and Western intervention in the Middle East, Eck documented his travels to Egypt to investigate the root of anti-American sentiment in Muslim society. “I moved from Saudi Arabia in June 2001, and then the World Trade Center was attacked,” Eck explained. Heritage in FilmsĮncouraged by his SRRHS teachers, who knew about his heritage and passion for film, Eck devised a plan to explore western misconceptions about the Middle East for his senior-year exhibition. But confident craftsmanship and a deft build-up of suspense elevate these minimal storytelling elements into a compelling, tense thriller that lands a big impact. Eck’s short dramatic thriller is a very pared-down, compact narrative - essentially a glimpse into one character’s state of mind and life, and then a discovery that illuminates and reveals just where he or she stands. ![]() ![]() When he heads out to meet up her, things look more ominous than he ever thought as he faces the surprise of his life. But he’s starting to think that she’s having an affair at work. It’s not that he doesn’t love her - he does. But it’s not a happy occasion for him - he’s been having doubts about his girlfriend. ![]() “Happy Birthday,” written and directed by Mustafa Toby Eck: Vince is having drinks with a friend on the evening of his birthday. Eck now describes himself as an “unofficial ambassador, divided between two different cultures.” He spent each summer in Egypt, which he thought of as “summer camp,” learning to speak Arabic and maintaining a connection to his ancestral society. It’s hard to sometimes compute or put your finger on it, but there was this fascination,” Eck said.Įck believes that traveling at such a young age fed his curiosity about history and culture, which was already stimulated by living in two different worlds. “I think from that age, I was fascinated by video and images. Eventually, he wanted to do the filming himself. It’s not all going to be related to Egypt or the Middle East,” Eck said.Įck went on to travel the world with his family and remembered that his father always had a video camera in his hand to document all of their trips. I understand what goes on in small towns and how people think and what their hopes and dreams are, what they deal with. He felt the dichotomy helped him to understand the artistry of filmmaking. One camera begot another and soon all of my allowance was spent at the Walgreens photo department.”Įck stated that one minute he was playing baseball in small-town America, and the next minute he was in the middle of Egypt riding on the back of a street train with all the other kids. On my 10th birthday, my mom bought me a Polaroid camera. It was not about film theory - it was about teaching yourself how to make movies through experience, which is when you really learn to make movies.”Įck’s mentors included Dan Gordon, ZGI’s co-founder, who was a screenwriter for “The Hurricane,” “Wyatt Earp” and “Passenger 57.” Gordon taught part-time at ZGI, which he had named for his son, an independent filmmaker killed in a car accident when he was 22. “They required you to take the camera in your hands immediately and start creating,” Eck said. Mustafa Toby Eck’s life came full circle as he sat conversing with other filmmakers at Yavapai College during the 29th Sedona International Film Festival a few weeks ago.Įck grew up in Sedona and graduated from Sedona Red Rock High School in 2003, then enrolled at the Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking, which was located at Yavapai College between 20, where he studied documentary and narrative filmmaking for two years, honing his skills and developing his craft. ![]()
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