An Interview with Muneeb Hassan (dir. All The Men I Met But Never Dated)

Joshua Polanski interviews the queer American-Pakistani director of All The Men I Met But Never Dated; they talk about autobiographic cinema, shooting in one and a half day, the closet as a safe haven, showing his film to his family, and much more!

US-based Muneeb Hassan has deep roots in Karachi, Pakistan. He is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild and a recent MIT-certified professional in AI Machine Learning. He started directing movies in 2012, and he has since authored five short films. The latest one All The Men I Met But Never Dated, about a closeted queer Pakistani finding love in the gym, premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival earlier this year. He is also a film producer.

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Joshua Polanski – How autobiographical is the story we see on screen?

Muneeb Hassan – The story is deeply personal and entirely autobiographical. It’s based on a true story, and even the ending of the film is true to what actually happened in real life (though I’ll hold off on spoiling it for viewers just yet). Fun fact: it all stems from a fourth date that went completely wrong – one of those experiences that’s heartbreaking at the time but, in hindsight, gives you a story worth telling.

JP – Shihab-Eldin and P-Smith both do a good job conveying the emotions they need to in such a short time. Can you walk me through the casting process? How early in pre-production did you know who would be playing Ali and Oliver?

MH – Casting was one of the easiest decisions I made for this project. I’ve known Ahmed for years through his work as a journalist and as a person, so he was always in mind for Ali while I was writing the script. He may be fairly new to acting, but something came through in his journalism work that interested me. I liked how readily he conveyed a kind of quiet, humble integrity and a loyalty to the truth. His authenticity and commitment to being true to himself made him the perfect fit for the role.

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