This is the story of Muhammed Faris, the first Syrian to go to outer space. He is forced to flee his country, as his ideas for a free Syria make him a target.

Interview with Director Charles Emir Richards

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

A friend told me about Mohammed Faris for the first time. I was immediately intrigued. I started doing a little bit of casual research on the internet and I could not believe his story. It was just amazing to me, in fact, it still is. Space travel is simply the highest scientific and technological advancement that mankind has to show. It’s the pinnacle of everything that mankind has done. Setting out to try to discover things that you know that you don’t know amazes me. The idea of a man coming from the highest point to be a hunted refugee just got to me. It struck a chord. When we think of traditional narratives it’s usually someone who comes from nothing and lifts himself up to be something incredible. Mohamed Faris had gone all the way up to incredible and was now at the other end of it. His life was sort of a reverse narrative.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The Syrian Cosmonaut explores the life of Muhammed Faris, which spans from being the first Syrian astronaut to becoming one of the most wanted men by Assad’s regime and to how he had to illegally cross the Turkish border. In depicting and illustrating Faris’ tragic story, I combined his interviews and real-life footage with Murat Palta’s Ottoman miniature illustrations to depict his story as his voice narrates it in the background. Along with Palta’s illustrations outer space as told by Faris’ is simultaneously vivified through the ancient Ottoman paper marbling art, called "Ebru" by the famous marbling artist Garip Ay. For me, the final ingredient is always my long-time collaborator and leader of the Turkish psychedelic rock band, Murat Ertel who explores new frontiers while keeping himself deeply rooted in traditional Middle Eastern music. Keeping in tune with the spirit of our documentary, we aim to employ traditional Eastern art aesthetics to remind the audience of this neglected episode in the history of outer space, which has become a monopoly between Russia and the U.S.A.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

On top of my personal drive to document the current dire conditions we are facing in the East and the ongoing humanitarian crisis that has been spreading in the West with a concerning rise in xenophobia, my aim is to not let the personal histories of the refuges sink and get lost under the general history writings of the Syrian War. Thus, The Syrian Cosmonaut not only sheds light onto an arguably less-known side of the history of outer space, but it also brings to the fore Muhammed Faris as a face to remind us what the war and political regimes systematically strive to efface from our history and memories will continue to survive despite all. While showing the audience that the price of the war far exceeds the immigration issues in the West, we also intend to humanize the word refugee, which has become part of an objectified discourse in the rising xenophobia, and to remind our audience that there is an individual story behind every face.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The approach that I took was very research and labor-intensive. I wanted to try to be able to think of things in a new way or at least to try to come up with new combinations. Before we sat down in the editing room I did a lot of the editing on paper and would constantly re-write everything. I would try to exhaust all the different possibilities and exhaust all the different combinations that I could come up with. And then when I got into the editing room, I would start writing all over again, as if none of that process had ever happened. I always wanted to be open to re-write at any stage.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Sales agents, buyers, distributors, and film festival directors! Everything :)

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We got an incredible response from people who were sympathetic to what was going on in Syria. As time goes by, people have lost their patience it seems, or lost interest, I am not sure. I think Sebastio Salgado summarizes it best: “People say that they have empathy fatigue, but they show no signs at all of consumer fatigue.”

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

We learn that all records of Mohammed Faris have been deleted by the Syrian government and the Russian space program. How can we protect and hold on to people like Mr.Faris despite government media control?

Would you like to add anything else?

Thank you for this interview :)

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I want to continue doing more work in the form of The Syrian Cosmonaut. It is so much fun and I learn so much from the process. I want to enjoy it a bit longer.

Interview: August 2023

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The Syrian Cosmonaut

This is the story of Muhammed Faris, the first Syrian to go to outer space. He is forced to flee his country, as his ideas for a free Syria make him a target.

Length: 12:49

Director: Charles Emir Richards

Producer: Enis Ozkul

Writer: Charles Emir Richards

About the writer, director and producer:

CHARLES EMIR RICHARDS was born in San Francisco to a Turkish mother and American father growing up between both countries. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design with honors in film. He has been working on documentary projects including No One, the award-winning story of a Syrian sniper that utilizes traditional Turkish shadow puppets. The Syrian Cosmonaut is his latest documentary effort that combines interviews with documentary footage with Turkish miniature art.

Key cast: Muhammed Faris

Looking for: buyers

Facebook: Charles Emir Richards

Twitter: @charlesemir

Instagram: @charlesemir

Other: Vimeo

Made in association with: Mental Films

Funders: Self-funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Shorts Mexico & Visioni Corte