“I am the son of a customs officer from Aleppo. My father, trying to raise many children at the same time; He was a poor but very honorable man. When I turned 18, I told him I wanted to go to the United States and be a 'film director'. It was a request like a joke in the small town where I lived in Aleppo in the 1940s. It was unimaginable for a Muslim Arab to go to Hollywood and have a say in the movie industry. However, my father listened to this thought with great seriousness. Shortly after this conversation, when I was just 18, he reached into his pocket and pulled out $200 as he was sending me off from Damascus Airport to Los Angeles. He said, "Unfortunately, this is all my savings, son, if there were more, I would give them without blinking." Then he took out a Quran from his other pocket. As I clasped the Bible tenderly between my palms, I said, ‘All I can do for you is to give these to you. Maybe we'll see each other in the next days, maybe we won't see each other at all. But never forget this, my prayers are with you. May God clear your way in this case you are embarking on,' and hugged me in tears. My Hollywood adventure, which has left half a century behind, started with this moment of farewell. I have never forgotten his sincere support for my ideals throughout my life. If my father had not been so forward-thinking in those days, there would have been no 'Call', neither would 'Omar Mukhtar'…”

MUSTAFA AKKAD