5 Questions with Yasir Masood ("Markings")

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I am a Pakistani American Filmmaker from Houston, Texas. I always had an affinity for writing and drawing since I was young, just a general curiosity for art I guess. I loved tying artistic movements with historical periods and paid attention to how art reflected both the advances and ailments of a society. Growing up Muslim during 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars made me hyper aware of world politics and my own identity all the way from elementary school. I wanted to try to reclaim our narratives as both Muslims and as a Immigrants but I never allowed myself to fully be an artist when I was young. It just wasn't something people with my background did where I grew up. My Dad is an HVAC repairman, I wanted to focus on something that would help my family be further financially secured. In late High School a combination of my older brother, best friend, and an Cinema History class in school introduced me to the classics like The Godfather, 2001, Do The Right Thing, Taxi Driver. I was awestruck, cinema was the only media that would combine my interest for writing, music, and images. And films like The Godfather made me realize, "Oh that's us, it's a story about a family like mine".

2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?

The initial idea of the project was to create something super personal and to capture the feeling of growing up where I grew up. The central focus of my childhood was basketball, everybody in my neighborhood played basketball religiously and were known in the area for the court that lay smack dab in the middle of it. BP in its time was one of the most distinct and reputable basketball runs in SW Houston. It's where a lot of people in the area came through before they moved on the college or semi-pro ball. But more than basketball there was a nurturing and learning that went on there every day just hanging out. The people in the film watched me and my friends grow up, they passed on so much of their lives towards developing us as men. I wanted to capture and honor that before life took me away from home.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?

There was a sudden flash of rain during filming our basketball scenes. That's why we never see our main character playing basketball in the film. We just had to deal with what we had.

The easiest part was working with my brother and my friends that acted in the film. I've known everyone in the film 10+ years so it was easy to articulate the parts of their personality that I saw them as growing up.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

I'm trying to think of a "cool" film school answer but honestly the original Coming to America. I grew up watching it, and I think it expresses the immigrant experience as well as the psychological hold that materialism has on all of us in America so well. You don't really know what America is until you experience it through the lens of someone but outside and inside it.

5) What’s next for you?

I am currently directing a self-produced and self-financed feature film with my friends and family.

—

IG: @filmbyasir