“It’s not art if it doesn’t make you think” – Independent film director, Eslam Hozayen, says about the importance of engaging viewers into what they’re watching.

Art is a lot of things, the definition itself differs depending on who you’re asking. “It must make you think” seems to be the answer from a young Minnesota filmmaker who agrees while art is subjective, it isn’t art unless it makes you think. Eslam Hozayen is a writer-director who has created 4 short films and 5 short visuals, The devil within us is by far his most successful project winning five awards in five different film festivals across America, Europe and India, yet he believes his most recent short, Born Monsters, is going to be his most successful work yet. The project is currently awaiting to be screened at two festivals that require first premier rights before it can be released to online platforms

Eslam believes in crossing lines when it comes to his creative process; “I think I enjoy it. As disturbing as some of the images I have made are, I don’t think things would’ve worked any other way” Eslam explains “To avoid fear is to give it power and control over us, but if we were to take a step closer into the face of fear and look for details I think we would understand it and eventually overcome it, that’s why I present these disturbing images because while they are necessary for the body of the work, they’re also essential to get the viewer to be comfortable learning about the uncomfortable”. What do you think? Should the art of independent filmmaking have no limits? Or do we have to draw a line that says “this is too much”?

To watch some of the director’s work and judge for yourself you can either head to his Instagram @director.e or Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user109304891