only after a successful career i had to start afresh i wanted to portray our experiences as muslims in a western society from inside out that was to counter preexisting narratives of dutch filmmakers that is why my movie is so wellreceived within the dutch moroccan circles theyve said finally there is somebody who is telling our truth a still from the way to paradisehow much of your own immigrant experience have you used in this film i am a mixture of the many cultures inside of me i am african european arab dutch moroccan and kuthollander that helps me to understand and even validate opposite viewpoints love the glue that brings it all together is an aspect that is prominent in all my moviessince you are yourself an actor how much did it help in directing your first feature i use different approaches to direct my actors they are the key the movie will falter if they cannot express the emotional content i want i am good at extracting that emotions are the key more than a mere rational approach to moviemaking was directing a film on such a subject an advantage as a debutant directorin the netherlands the movie was not an overall success migrants loved the movie the usual afterdiscussions with the public a key feature in all my projects were always superemotional and heartbreaking the other population of longtime dutch descent felt confronted with a reality that was uncomfortable to them especially on the issues of discrimination and religionwhat do you plan to direct nextmy movie was not selected for the national film festival many filmmakers feel ashamed because of that decision the dutch film system is not very open to new migrant filmmakers as are the select committees my next project will be about illegal immigrants and what happens when they are sent back to their motherland that is another sensitive issue it is a story about a young boy born in holland who was deported back to morocco along with his parents he then has to survive on the streets of casablanca