Thornhill filmmaker debuting The Sheik at Hot Docs

Yorkregion.com
April 14, 2014
By Simone Joseph

Thornhill-native Igal Hecht has produced movies about West Bank settlements and its people, about Canadian comedians touring Israel, and has just returned from Rwanda and Bangladesh where he was filming a movie about genocide.

His movie The Sheik has is making its world premiere at the 2014 Hot Docs International Documentary film festival in Toronto, April 26.

He directed, produced, wrote and edited the documentary about wrestling legend Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, also known as the Iron Sheik.

Israeli-born, Mr. Hecht has lived in Canada for 25 years.

Mr. Hecht could not pass up the opportunity to make the film, he told the Thornhill Liberal.

“It allowed me to revisit my childhood because I was such a big wrestling fan.”

Twin brothers Jian and Page of Megan Boys Entertainment, well known in Thornhill circles for their Vaughan-based entertainment business, were working on the movie before Mr. Hecht joined the team.

The brothers grew up with the Sheik because of his friendship with their father. He regularly visited their home, calling him uncle, Mr. Hecht said.

The Megan Boys’ father was a ping pong champion in Iran while the Sheik was a wrestling champ and they met at the same olympic-type village, Mr. Hecht said.

When the Sheik was going through a difficult time — his daughter had been murdered and he was into hard drugs — they wanted to help him.

“They wanted to do something to save him, to revamp his career,” Mr. Hecht said.

The brothers started filming in 2006. Mr. Hecht became involved in 2010 and took over as director and editor. The Megan Boys remained a major contributor to the film and also helped the Sheik become a social media icon.

Reaction to the movie has been “phenomenal,” Mr. Hecht said.

The movie trailer debuted earlier this month and already has about 50,000 page views, he said last week.

Mr. Hecht believes the Sheik was mis-cast on the stage of public opinion.

“He is a good man with a good heart. He was portrayed as an anti-American villain. He loves America.”

Mr. Hecht did not have certain footage, such as the match between Hulk Hogan and the Sheik, which basically launched Hulkamania, so he had to recreate certain moments, which he did using graphics, animation and photos, he said.

The movie examines how the Sheik became a pop culture icon and what happens to people like him once the fans go away.

Mr. Hecht learned about the wrestler during three or four interviews he had with the Sheik.

Mr. Hecht’s next project: A six-part made-for-TV series about the Bible done from a woman’s perspective.

Visit hotdocs.ca for more information on the 2014 Hot Docs International Documentary film festival and sheikmovie.com for more about the movie.