Young Syrian director Amr Ali expressed his deep longing for his late father Hatem Ali, who passed away about ten days ago from a sudden heart attack in a hotel in Egypt, reminiscing about their last shared moments.
Amr Ali wrote on his personal Facebook page: "It has been ten days and I don’t know what to write, for your voice still echoes loudly in my head, and our last photos refuse to leave my imagination." He added, "Ten days I have been trying hard to arrange the events of the last days, remembering a small incident here and forgetting a significant one there: our last gathering at the Marriott hotel garden, our last lunch at the 'Simkamak Al-Mohandessin' restaurant, the premiere of the film '200 Meters' at the Zawya Cinema, the final rehearsal for our film project at the Cairo Film Festival, my annoyance and restlessness over your great concern and constant worry. My impromptu word for you, which wasn’t planned, in front of the festival guests and jury. The complete water outage in the Zamalek neighborhood due to the subway excavation work. But: how could I have known these were our last days together? How could I have guessed? Anticipated? Suspected? Prepared? And between us was a sea of dreams and hopes and a long-awaited return to Al-Sham to complete the film? Ten days I remember your return from shooting the car accident scene in the 'Mr. S' series wearing a bloodied shirt: my fear, panic, and tears. Your embrace, your smile, and your words: 'This is acting.'"
He concluded his message wishing that what happened was just a dream from which he would wake up, expressing this sentiment by saying: "I wish everything that happened was acting within acting, and that the pain and sorrows resting in my heart would bring back your captivating spirit, even if just for once, to tell you I love you, the one who made me... I love you as no son has loved his father... and for love to reach its fullest measure in this existence." It is noteworthy that Hatem Ali passed away at the age of 58 due to a sudden heart attack, and his most prominent works in directing include 'Al-Zeer Salem', 'Rabi' Qurtuba', 'The Four Seasons', 'The Godfather', and many others.
