Mohammed Abu Naba’a - "Lashes"

Driver - Jordan
crew - Mohammed - lashes
Location:
Amman, Jordan
Day job:
Taxi driver in Jordan
Dream job:
Film star
Film:
The Age of Stupid
Time on the job:
1 month
Jet, jeep, bus or bike:
Yellow taxi, of course
Original connection:
I picked up Franny & Lizzie in my taxi and became their driver
Memorable moment:
Sleeping at the Iraqi border

Biography:

Franny filming on top of a driving car: Director Franny Armstrong filming from the top of a yellow taxi in the Jordanian desert. She was filming tracking shots of camels and the sunset, which didn't actually make it into the film.  Lashes (Mohammed) the driver was a bit worried when she first perched on top of his car but after a few minutes he was driving as confidently as ever - just more slowly, thank god. Franny's using the Sony Z1 camera which was predominantly used to shoot the film and the best budget-filmmakers-baby-steadicam, the Glidecam200 Pro. Date: August 2007 Location: Amman, Jordan Copyright: Spanner Films Credit: Spanner Films Restrictions: Free for use in Age of Stupid-related promotion. No resale.
Franny filming on top of my taxi. 
Driver Lashes (Mohammed) - portrait: One minute Mohammed was a regular taxi driver in Amman, Jordan and the next he was the fulltime driver for the film shoot in Jordan, which ended up lasting for a month. Franny & Lizzie renamed him Lashes in honour of his amazingly long eye lashes and over the weeks he took on more roles including bodyguard, counsellor, researcher, sound recordist, fixer, and production co-ordinator. Date: August 2007 Location: Amman, Jordan Copyright: Spanner Films Credit: Spanner Films Restrictions: Free for use in Age of Stupid-related promotion. No resale.
Me and my taxi: One minute he was a regular taxi driver in Amman, Jordan and the next he was the fulltime driver for the film shoot in Jordan, which ended up lasting for a month. Franny & Lizzie renamed him Lashes in honour of his amazingly long eye lashes and over the weeks he took on more roles including bodyguard, counsellor, researcher, sound recordist, fixer, and production co-ordinator.

Crew - Iraqi border crossing: The crew who pulled together for the filming on Malik's border crossing from Iraq to Jordan. He had tried to cross 8 times before this attempt but always been turned back.  Malik was delayed overnight so the whole crew slept in two taxis at the border. Date: August 2007 Location: Iraqi border, Jordan Copyright: Spanner Films Credit: Spanner Films Restrictions: Free for use in Age of Stupid-related promotion. No resale.
Crew - Iraqi border crossing: The crew who pulled together for the filming on Malik's border crossing from Iraq to Jordan. He had tried to cross 8 times before this attempt but always been turned back.  Malik was delayed overnight so the whole crew slept in two taxis at the border, one of which was mine.

 

Mohammed, soon re-named "Lashes" on account of his amazingly long eyelashes,
picked us up in his Taxi on our first night filming in Jordan. He soon became a
crucial member of the team. Watch Franny trying to find out where he got his lashes from...