Isam Bachiri
Macungie, Pennsylvania
Portrait of renowned artist, songwriter, and vocalist Isam B (Bachiri), captured during the Masters of War video shoot.
© Mustafa Davis, 2025
Directing and shooting this piece for my dear friend Isam B was more than a return to form—it was a reckoning. It marked the first time I touched a cinema camera since COVID. The pandemic didn’t just pause projects; it quietly siphoned away my drive—and if I’m honest—the love I had for filmmaking. I’d tried to return to it, but the camera felt foreign, like shaking hands with a version of myself I no longer recognized. The question wasn’t just how to film again—it was why.
Was I still a filmmaker if I had no desire to make films? Was art something I once did, or something I still am? Could I really set it down and call myself whole? I didn’t know. So I stopped trying. I accepted the silence.
Then Isam came to visit us in Pennsylvania. Casually, he asked if I wanted to shoot a video while he was in town. I said “sure,” more out of brotherly politeness than excitement. I imagined something simple—tripod, one light, he performs. Done. But then he sent a few songs and asked which one I felt drawn to. I hesitated. That required choice. Creative investment. Direction.
He nudged: “Just listen—tell me what images come to mind.” I listened. And slowly, something stirred. I started visualizing again. I sent him a few ideas, and he just replied, “I like it.”
That was it. That was the moment. I was back—not with fanfare, but with quiet clarity. Sometimes it just takes the right project, the right person, and the right moment to remind you of who you are.