Enjoying the 'Moment' :: Boodi Kabbani on Migrants, Love Scenes, and 'A Moment in the Reeds'

Openly gay actor Boodi Kabbani is a rarity in his profession in terms of being both out and Syrian. The film he co-stars in, writer-director Mikko Makela's "A Moment in the Reeds" – out on DVD Dec. 4 – is also a rarity: It's the first feature film from Finland to portray a same-sex romance.

The story is familiar but exquisitely told. Leevi (Janne Puustinen) has come back to Finland from Paris, where he's pursuing an advanced degree in literature, to help his father, Jouko (Mika Melender), renovate a lakeside cabin. Relations are strained between father and son, partly because of the recent death of Leevi's mother, but also because Jouko doesn't really understand Leevi and questions him about his lack of interest in girls, his career choices, and his disinclination to complete his mandatory military service. For his part, Leevi dislikes what he sees as his father's gruffness.

Enter Tareq, played by Kabbani. Tareq is an architect by profession, but since he's a Syrian migrant he's been reduced to working as a handyman for hire. Jouko is uncomfortable with Tareq from the start, doubting his ability to do the job, while the more cosmopolitan Leevi readily accepts him. The only language any of them have in common is English, which both Leevi and Tareq speak well – hence the film is mostly in English – and this, together with a growing attraction between the two younger men, helps them to find their way to a bond that quickly becomes sexual in nature. Jouko, meantime, is called back to the city, and there's a sense that this is a relief all around.

What follows is an idyll of companionship and sexual discovery, but it's tempered by the knowledge that Tareq is only starting to put down roots in a country that Leevi can't wait to leave for good. As tender and affecting as "Weekend" or the similarly-themed "God's Own Country," "A Moment in the Reeds" feels like a respite for the characters – and for the viewer, as well.

Boodi Kabbani spoke with EDGE from Helsinki, where he has returned to his theatrical roots.

EDGE: You left Syria in 2012. Was that part of the general displacement that has occurred in Syria since 2011, with 12 million people reportedly leaving? Or did you have to leave because you were gay?

Boodi Kabbani: I moved from Syria because I had mandatory military service I really didn't want to participate in. But I always wanted to leave – that was the final push for me.

EDGE: What would military service have been like in Syria? Do they have a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" attitude toward LGBTQ people, as was once the case in the United States?

Boodi Kabbani: I think it's kind of like... some people announce [they are gay], and that gets them easier jobs – which is ridiculous, as well – but I think most people would be scared of harassment. It feels like a less than an identity and more like a vulnerability [to come out] there. I also don't agree with the army in general; I'm against violence. I don't want to be part of that.

EDGE: So in real life, you were like Leevi, who in the film is looking to become a French citizen to avoid military service in Finland.

Boodi Kabbani: Yeah.

EDGE: How did you come to be in Finland, as opposed to Canada or Germany or some other country?

Boodi Kabbani: It was completely random. I was living in Beirut [after leaving Syria] and working there and everything, and then I applied at some point for an asylum through the UN [Security Council Resolution regarding refugees]. It took a while and then they told me that, "Finland is inviting you to resettle there." They asked me if I would like to do that – and, yeah!

EDGE: There's a lot of improvised dialogue in "A Moment in the Reeds." I found myself wondering about the scene where your character, Tareq, is talking with Leevi about being a migrant. Were you drawing much on your own experiences, or working from things you'd heard from others?

Boodi Kabbani: We really improvised a lot when making this film. When I met Mikko for the first time, the character wasn't even Syrian. He was an immigrant in general. Then when I got the part, it was decided that the character is Syrian because it was planned that character was always going to be the nationality of the actor who was cast. And I generally wouldn't like to play another nationality in such a context.

But also I feel like I know what's going on [from the point of view of a Syrian migrant]. Improvising that, I used a lot of elements from my story and from my experience. Also, there is a lot from what I have been around, and from other people's experiences – either friends or people I interviewed for that character.

EDGE: How did you end up being cast in the movie? Was that something that resulted from a tour of Finland you did in a production of the play "The Wedding?" Or did you meet Mr. Makela some other way?

Boodi Kabbani: Actually, the film producer Jarno Pimperi sent me Mikko's casting call for the film on Facebook, and then he asked me if I would be interested because they were looking for an actor with my looks. And I was very much encouraged to go to the casting because I had just finished a tour with the theatre piece "The Wedding," which was my first time acting. I met him and we had a conversation, then he invited me to the audition; I went once, then twice, then they called me and said, "Hey, congratulations," and I was so very happy.

EDGE: "A Moment in the Reeds" is the first Finnish feature film about a gay relationship. Is that a source of pride for you?

Boodi Kabbani: That is absolutely a source of pride for me. It was quite surprising, to be honest, in the beginning; when we first did this – it's been two years now – it was kind of a shock because I thought Finland would be a little bit more [socially progressive]. I didn't really think that this was going to be the first [gay] Finnish film. I was thinking about it as, like, the first Syrian LGBT film. I thought Finland is more liberal than that, you know? But people who are involved in the business, it's [a matter of] their voices as to what gets funding and this kind of stuff. You know how it goes.

EDGE: That's what it's like in the States, too – you hear that a fair amount.

[Laughter]

EDGE: It's interesting that in the film the two characters have opposite reactions to being gay and being in Finland.

Boodi Kabbani: I really think this is a very interesting point in the film, for so many reasons. They're in a place that Leevi felt he couldn't be himself at all, and [for] Tareq [it's] a free place where he can actually just be himself.

EDGE Does that dialogue reflect conversations you might have had with Mr. Puustinen when you were talking about your characters?

Boodi Kabbani: I had this conversation with Janne, and also it's somewhat from my experience. Sometimes when you move somewhere you would be way more free than people who actually live there, because you're away from the family and the society that you know. You can reinvent yourself and live by your [own] rules. I think that's the core thing – I think that sort of thing is also in our heads most of the time, more than in reality.

EDGE: There's some interesting interplay between Tareq Leevi's father, Jouko, who is played by Mika Melender. He's not exactly racist, but he does question Tareq's competence and he seems a little xenophobic. Have you had this experience in Finland, being an immigrant?

Boodi Kabbani: Oh, yeah, I really had many experiences like that. You can also feel that this person – he's not being racist, he's not a bad person; these people come from a generation where they're really not used to having strangers around. And, also, Finland only got its independence a hundred years ago, so it's a place where people feel, "Finally we got our national identity," and they don't want anyone to change it.

I had so many encounters like that, and it feels quite uncomfortable, to be honest, but wherever you live you manage to find a bubble where you feel quite welcome and you can be yourself.

EDGE: How did you and Mr. Melender work through those scenes? Did you have discussions around them, or did say to you, "Look, you know this isn't really what I think?"

Boodi Kabbani: Mika is the most wonderful person – we really had so much fun on set. It was really weird to play these things because we were laughing all the time! If you're really not this kind of person – and I have to say, he was also very aware of these people and he was playing the sort of person who is really is scared of the new thing or scared of something that they ignore. That's what we were talking about. And I really like that we touched the human in the character – we kind of understand a little bit why he is this person, because of his experiences and where he comes from.

EDGE: A central element of the reaction in nations around the world to the migrant crisis is a fear of national identities being somehow challenged or "diluted" thanks to people seeking refuge and asylum and coming in from other places.

Boodi Kabbani: I never really felt I had an attachment to any place or any national identity or anything, so it's hard for me to understand why people get vicious and angry about it.

EDGE: You probably know about this "caravan" of migrants from Central America, thousands of people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. When you hear stories like theirs, do you really feel you sympathize with them?

Boodi Kabbani: Of course I really support the freedom of movement [of people] and of [settling] themselves wherever they can. I don't understand why some people, because they come from certain places, are not allowed to do that. You know what I mean? When you go to Africa, there's a lot of American people living there; there's a lot of European people living there, and that really changes the national identities of [African countries]. But we don't really speak about it in that way. I just feel that everyone should have the same and equal freedom of movement, and everyone should be able to decide for themselves where it's better for them to live.

EDGE: The film's love scenes are sensitive, and they're also fairly explicit. How did you and Mr. Puustinen negotiate what you were going to do with one another, what your boundaries and comfort were with one another, and what you would be willing to do for the camera?

Boodi Kabbani: We were really focusing on the story itself, and feeling like, "Okay, now these people are in this state of getting to know [each other]. How is the connection going to be at that point? If it's physical, how will we translate it – how would they feel about each other?" We had this very safe surrounding during shooting, and we really trusted each other. We didn't feel we needed to talk a lot about it, to be honest. It was very... everyone was just doing their own art and providing a safe space for each other.

EDGE: And it's a lot of hard work to put that much intensity into scenes like that. A short scene can take hours and hours to film. It must be exhausting.

Boodi Kabbani: Yeah...

[Laughter]

Boodi Kabbani: I saw the DVD version, and [those scenes are] even more extended. I thought, "This is so long... this is so long!" We were shooting [those scenes] toward the end [of filming] so by then we felt even more comfortable working together. We were just thinking about those characters and really living [them] through those sex scenes. I tried to enjoy [those scenes] and really feel them; it was acting, but we were very much involved in the moment.

EDGE: So you had a nice connection.

Boodi Kabbani: I really think we do, and when I saw the sex scenes, I liked how the characters are communicating and responding to each other.

EDGE: You're in rehearsals now for something new – can you talk a little about that?

Boodi Kabbani: I'm now doing this theater piece here at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki. It's also about this person who leaves his homeland and comes to another land to find work and start a new life. It's about that, and his encounters with the locals, and their reactions to him. I'm playing one of the locals and the local [actor] is playing, basically, the immigrant. I like that twist a lot.

"A Moment in the Reeds" is available for streaming now and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 4. More information at https://amomentinthereeds.com/watch