Although simple in its premises, essentially consisting of dialogues between the director and the owner of the photostudio the film takes place in, “Make it Look Real” is actually a rather layered documentary that results in a number of sociopolitical and even philosophical comments. Let ust take things from the beginning though.
Make it Look Real is screening at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
The basis of the narrative here is formed mostly through the dialogue between the director and the studio owner, Muhammad, who, surprisingly, give their place in front and behind the camera to each other a number of times. Between these discussion, clients visiting the studio, wishing to “create” photos of themselves with girls, preferably holding a gun or sitting on a motorcycle, choosing from the plethora of stock photo Muhammad has pinned on the walls of his shop. Evidently, the clients have neither of these things, which results in the first comment here.
Why do people like fake photos? And why do they prefer holding guns or being on motorcycles, with good looking girls besides them? Is it just the fact that they do not have those things, or, particularly in the case of guns, something more dangerous is lurking behind their decision. This approach continues, as a photograph of Danial Shah is being photoshopped in order to remove any aspects on his face that are considered unattractive (moles, pimples, white hair in his beard) but more surprisingly, to make him more white. The director repeatedly asks the photographer about this ‘whitewashing’, but the only answer he gets is that people consider whiter more beautiful, in another rather layered comment here.
The discussion also moves to other paths. The money Mohammad makes from his photos emerge to be insignificant, particularly when compared with what Shah makes as a photoreporter for Western publications, in yet another comment, this time on the discrepancies between the West and the developing countries. Furthermore, this aspect also results in a comment between fake and real photos, which could be interpreted in a number of ways.
In one of the most interesting moments of the documentary, Muhammad talks about the tragic events highlighting the ongoing sectarian violence faced by the Hazara community in Pakistan, with his experience from the bombings emerging as quite impactful. This is also connected with his will to leave Pakistan for the West, in an endeavour, though, that is difficult on a number of levels. Lastly, the discussions about tea and the quality of his own conclude the discussions here in a pleasant way.
Although evidently simple in its conception and presentation, “Make It Look Real” is actually a very layered documentary, with Sébastien Demeffe’s editing emerging as one of the best traits here, particularly in the succession of scenes and the overall pace. That Shah manages to make all these comments with such a minimal basis and in just 68 minutes is a testament to the quality of the direction, in a triumph of economic documentary-making.
