If you don’t already know the name Hala Matar, you’re about to. The first Bahraini director to have a film released in Hollywood, Hala’s debut film Electra exploded onto screens on May 2. Featuring Oscar-nominated actress Maria Bakalova, along with Abigail Cowen, Daryl Wein and British actor Jack Farthing, the avant-garde picture set in Rome is the name on many cinephile’s lips.
When we speak to Hala early in the morning, LA time, she’s dressed and ready for a hike. With a quiet demeanour but a loud passion for film, she speaks of her early memories of creativity.
“As a child, I would disappear into my own universe, writing poetry and dreaming up worlds,” she says. Having grown up in Bahrain until she was 18, she adds, “I think some part of my creativity developed actually because of my gardener. I would spend afternoons with him in my garden building tree houses.”
Poetically, the Gulf laid the groundwork for the imaginative landscapes that now define Hala’s cinematic voice. After graduating with a drama degree with a minor in philosophy from the University of Virginia, the budding creative moved to New York. Yet, film-making seemed like a pipe dream.
“It felt like something other people did – distant and impossible,” Hala reflects. “It never even crossed my mind that it could be a path for me, until I just…started walking it.” Interning on film sets, her dreams were big. “I was writing feature films, but I realised I needed to get more experience first.”
During this time, she set up an art gallery in the capital city, but the pull of film remained. “I got depressed, I was crying every day because I just love film so much, and I felt like I was betraying who I am,” she confesses.
Turning her attention back to her passion, Hala spent the next few years directing fashion films (for brands including Chanel and Vivienne Westwood), along with music videos starring big names such as Kristen Stewart and Suki Waterhouse.
“Whenever I create, I don’t chase a style or an aesthetic,” Hala explains. “I just listen inward. What comes out is simply the purest reflection of who I am at that moment.” That internal compass guided her across continents and genres – from an episode of the Arabic thriller series Kaboos to her first major feature.
The idea for Electra came about when fellow director Daryl Wein encouraged Hala to conceive a script that takes place in one venue. Co-written with Daryl as well as Paul Sado, the thriller is set in a beautiful mansion in Italy, and was commissioned just a few weeks after they finished working on it. Electra is a psychological drama with elements of Greek tragedy, the culmination of years of exploration into visual spectacle.
Shooting under tight deadlines, Hala found herself leaning on her years of learning. “Working under pressure on Electra taught me to trust my instincts,” Hala shares. “Sometimes, the greatest creativity is born out of constraint, when you have no choice but to leap”.
In Electra, there is no preaching, no heavy-handed message, only the nuanced truths of the human experience. “I’m not trying to be an activist through my art,” she explains. “I just want to tell the truth as I see it, with as much grace, humanity and hope as I can offer.”
Her debut movie release cements her title as the first female Bahraini to create a feature Hollywood film. “I’m very grateful that I’ve paved the way for other Bahrainis to make movies and just pursue creative endeavours in general,” says Hala. “I hope that this will inspire them to go after whatever they’re interested in, and be as crazy and wild as the film is.”
Described as a mix between Saltburn and The Talented Mr Ripley, Hala Matar’s Electra stands as a reminder of what true creativity at its best can be – not a pursuit of perfection, but a courageous act of listening to your passion and following your dream. And with two other scripts set in Italy in her back pocket, this isn’t the last time you’re going to see her name in lights.
