Ramycaptures life in Palestine while exposing its protagonists greed.
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Ramy Hassan does many potentially unforgivable things over the first two seasons ofthe Hulu seriesnamed for itscreator and star.
Somehow, though, this isnt Ramys lowest point.
Thats achieved in the ambitious, uncomfortable, and exemplary season-three episode Egyptian Cigarettes.
Whenseason three begins, two years have passed since Ramys wedding and subsequent confession of infidelity.
Catastrophe officially strikes after Ramy tries to squeeze in a Tinder date before his big dinner with the suppliers.
Writing the Biggest Asshole in Israel
TheRamywriters began working on the episode in February 2021.
Putting him in the middle of this felt like a natural evolution for our show.
He just needed a reason to be there.
We want no states.
Only after he reaches for a pen does she claim shes kidding.
Khaled (Wadia Jazmawi), a Palestinian teen who encounters Ramy at a checkpoint.
The writers decided to build the climax of the episode around Ramy and Khaled.
In turn, Khaled and his friends chase down Ramy and steal his jacket and passport.
Adjusting to Tragedy
Preparing to film abroad was rigorous.
Although co-writers Youssef and Alhassen hadeach visited the Palestinian territories in 2015, they knew they needed local input.
Clearances for the crew arrived, as well as unprecedented shooting access tothe Qalandia checkpoint.
Youssef and Jacir refused to cast backup actors.
If we were on our own, yeah, we definitely would have been rejected.
But this is a big deal.
Its Hulu, its Disney.
Its as big as it gets.
The weight of it is almost not grasped in the U.S.
This is like if Anderson Cooper got sniped.
That really dashed all our hopes of being able to actually cross over.
The streets were tense after that, Jacir remembers.
Only B-roll would be captured at the Qalandia checkpoint.
We can do anything in Palestine, and Im convinced of it, Jacir says.
Detaining Uncle Naseem
Filming for Uncle Naseems scenes began in early April 2022 in New York.
His approach resulted in two improvised moments.
In the first, Uncle Naseem flips off the security camera and snarls the profanity sharmuta after his detainment.
All of Uncle Naseems comedy comes from pain, says Nakli.
I never give a shot to be funny, I just stay true to the circumstances.
Jacir still speaks with wonder, though, about the productions packed itinerary.
The pause in traffic allowed the cameras to capture the moment uninterrupted.
Throughout the shoot, Abbass was invaluable as a consulting producer.
Alhassen particularly appreciated Abbasss cultural insight and knowledge of Palestinian history.
In certain moments, she would turn to me and say, Do you see that cactus there?
Thats how we know there was a Palestinian village, becauseyou cant get rid of the cactus.
As Abbass put it, Everything was really incredibly challenging and beautiful at the same time.
To have a picture of those organs these effects are really real, Youssef explains.
When are we going to look at that photo?
You dont have to really say anything else, Jacir adds.
We didnt have to say to anybody, What is a military occupation?
What is life like here?
