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Grégoire Canlorbe

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A conversation with Igal Hecht, for Gatestone Institute

A conversation with Igal Hecht, for Gatestone Institute

by Grégoire Canlorbe · Mai 5, 2025

In 1999, Igal Hecht created Chutzpa Productions Inc. His award winning films have been described as controversial and thought provoking. His films have dealt with human rights issues to pop culture. Throughout his twenty-year career, Igal Hecht has been involved in the production of over fifty documentary films and over twenty television series. Igal’s films and television series have been screened nationally and internationally on Netflix, Prime, BBC, Documentary Channel, CBC, YES-TV (Canada), HBO Europe and many others.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: The Killing Roads investigate the pogrom perpetrated across the Gaza envelope on October 7, 2023, with special attention paid to the attacks launched on the roads in southern Israel. How did you proceed with gathering, and crafting, the introduced testimonies and audiovisual material?

  Igal Hecht: When October 7th unfolded, I began collecting and archiving every piece of footage that emerged—raw, unfiltered, and often horrifying. As the days passed and the scale of the atrocities became undeniable, I knew I had to make a film. But with so much devastation, I needed to focus on a specific, often overlooked aspect of the attack.

  In November, Haaretz and The New York Times published articles about the massacres on the roads. That became my focal point. I began researching, speaking to survivors, and quickly realized that aside from Israeli TV, no one was truly exposing what happened, particularly on Route 232 and Route 34. On those roads alone, Palestinian terrorists, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and civilians from Gaza (as if there’s any real distinction between them) murdered around 250 innocent people.

  A few months in, I started reaching out to survivors, and with my trusted collaborator, Lior Cohen, who I’ve made over 25 films with, we set off to Israel. In early 2024, I spent a month filming in and around Route 232, Route 34, Sderot, the Nova festival grounds, kibbutzim, and cities like Sderot and Ofakim. We conducted over 20 interviews and shot nearly 40 hours of footage. Ultimately, we focused on seven stories. They were each distinct, each offering a different angle of the carnage that unfolded on those roads.

  The visual evidence was crucial. We incorporated footage from survivors, Hamas propaganda videos, security footage, and, thanks to Hatzalah, we obtained 50 hours of raw material from ambulance teams. These first responders documented everything. Every horror, every burned-out car, every bullet-ridden body, from the moment the attack began.

  This wasn’t just a massacre; it was a Nazi-style atrocity committed by Palestinian terrorists. The Killing Roads doesn’t rely on rhetoric, rather, it presents the truth, unfiltered and undeniable. The horror is laid bare, and it must be seen to ensure that no one can ever deny or rewrite what happened.

  On October 7th, Palestinian terrorists and civilians from Gaza committed a mini-Shoah against Jews in Israel. They didn’t just murder—they raped, burned, and mutilated women, children, and men because they were Jewish. And if that wasn’t enough, their woke progressive and Islamist sympathizers in Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Australia celebrated the bloodshed. That is the grotesque reality Jews around the world are facing today.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Genocide is a reality you had already covered—through documentaries on the Holocaust, as well as on Rwandan, Bangladeshi, Cambodian, and Yezidi genocides. How did it feel, this time?

  Igal Hecht: This time, it was personal. My family lives in that region. I had family members in Sderot fighting off terrorists. I lost brave colleagues. The victims weren’t nameless figures from history books; they were my people.

  And what made it worse was the reaction in Canada. People I thought were friends, colleagues I had worked with, openly supported or excused the butchery. October 7th stripped away the masks. It revealed a deep-seated antisemitism that had always been there, lurking just beneath the surface.

  For me, making this film wasn’t just about documenting history, rather it was a mission. It was my way of saying fuck you to every person who tried to justify, minimize, or celebrate this slaughter. That’s why I made The Killing Roads freely available online. Unlike many filmmakers who compromise to appease broadcasters—who bend to absurd rules like not calling Hamas “terrorists”—I refused to sanitize the truth.

  This film doesn’t offer excuses or euphemisms. It shows, in brutal clarity, what Israelis endured that day. And it does so without concern for political correctness or the fragile sensibilities of those who sympathize with murderers.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: In Canada, what is the average perception of Israel, the Hamas (and similar organizations like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and Donald Trump’s Middle-East policy?

  Igal Hecht: Under Justin Trudeau, Canada has become the leading hub for Islamist terrorism support in North America. That’s not hyperbole. This is a fact.

  The very day of the October 7th massacre, Muslim activists and their woke, antisemitic allies flooded the streets of Toronto and Montreal, chanting in Arabic for the extermination of Jews. I filmed it. I published it. Nothing happened. Apparently, Canadian police can’t find a single Arabic translator.

  From the start, the Trudeau government’s priority wasn’t justice—it was appeasement. Canada, like the UK and much of Europe, has chosen to bend the knee to Islamic fundamentalism.

  The average Canadian gets their information from a publicly funded broadcaster that pumps out anti-Israel propaganda daily, much like the BBC. These journalists take Hamas press releases as gospel and only issue weak retractions after the damage is done. We’ve seen it repeatedly, from The New York Times parroting Hamas casualty figures to the BBC recently producing outright propaganda films.

  And the result? A 630% rise in antisemitic attacks in Canada. Synagogues vandalized. Jews beaten in the streets. Jewish students in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver physically blocked from attending school—just like in Nazi Germany. Yet, the media downplays it, and politicians look the other way.

  If this unchecked immigration and tolerance for Islamist extremism continue, Canada will follow the path of the UK, France, and the Netherlands. In 10 to 15 years, we’ll see the same no-go zones, the same normalization of antisemitism, and the same erosion of Western values. That’s the trajectory unless people wake up.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Do you see some impact of the Abraham Accords with respect to the partnership between Israeli filmmaking and the movie industry in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and other Sunni states?

  Igal Hecht: To be honest, I don’t know. It’s not my world.

  What I do know is that the Abraham Accords were a game-changer, and President Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for them. Of course, he won’t get one—Obama got his for good intentions, while Trump actually delivered peace. That tells you everything.

  The Sunni states are waking up to a simple truth: the main obstacle to peace isn’t Israel. Rather, it’s the so-called Palestinians and their genocidal fantasies. Remove that factor from the equation, and Israel and the Arab world can thrive together.

  The Palestinian issue has been the Middle East’s perpetual cancer. More Arab leaders are starting to see that. Hopefully, the rest of the world will, too.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: You wrote, produced, and shot Streets of Jerusalem and several other documentaries set in the holy town. How do you sum up the sort of cinematographic aesthetics the light and architecture in Jerusalem allow for?

  Igal Hecht: Jerusalem is visually unparalleled. It’s not just a setting, it’s a character.  I’ve filmed there for 25 years, and there isn’t a corner of the city my team and I haven’t explored. The aesthetic contrast is breathtaking. The ancient architecture interwoven with the modern, the energy of the people, the ever-present layers of history. You can set up a camera in the Old City or Mahane Yehuda market and capture something cinematic without even trying. Every frame tells a story. It’s why I keep going back and hopefully will again for my next project with Lior Cohen.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Please tell us about Easter in the Holy Land, which covers Christian pilgrimages in the Land of Israel in the Easter season. When it comes to conveying mystical experience, is movie as eloquent a medium as are literature and painting?

  Igal Hecht: Easter in the Holy Land is a feature-length documentary (or a three-part series) that I’m incredibly proud of. I had the privilege of working alongside cinematographers Lior Cohen and Gabriel Volcovich, as well as filming myself. Every frame is meticulously crafted—each shot looks like a painting.

  We filmed across some of the most sacred Christian sites, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and, of course, Jerusalem, particularly the Old City. The film is a visual and spiritual celebration of Easter, offering audiences an intimate view of the deep significance of this holy season in the very land where it all began. More than that, it highlights a truth that is often ignored or distorted: Christian pilgrims in Israel experience absolute religious freedom.

  Despite the lies spread by far-right Christian antisemites and Arab nationalist propagandists, Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians can freely and safely celebrate their faith. In contrast, throughout the surrounding region, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, Christians face persecution, intimidation, and even violence. Yes, there have been isolated incidents in Israel, and they are regrettable. But unlike in many other places, here, those who commit crimes against Christians are arrested and held accountable.

  Ultimately, Easter and Christmas in Israel serve as testaments to the reality that Christian minorities here can observe their holiest days without fear. This is something that is virtually impossible anywhere else in the Middle East.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Do you plan to direct an equivalent documentary on Jewish and Muslim pilgrimages in the Holy Land?

  Igal Hecht: I haven’t given that much thought, but it would be fascinating to create a trilogy covering all three Abrahamic faiths. The challenge, as always, is funding and securing a broadcaster willing to take it on.  People don’t realize how difficult it is to produce content that explores faith and religion, especially for mainstream television. It’s not impossible, but there’s a definite bias against it. I’ve been fortunate to work with broadcasters who see the value in faith-based programming, but they are few and far between. The reality is that many networks shy away from religious content unless it fits a specific agenda.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: What is your view about the filmic treatment of Jerusalem in the time of the crusades? How do you assess, in particular, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven?

  Igal Hecht: Aesthetically, Kingdom of Heaven is a stunning film. This is exactly what you’d expect from a director like Ridley Scott, with his massive budget and extraordinary craftsmanship. Beyond that? It’s all subjective. The film, like most historical dramas, takes artistic liberties. But that’s the nature of cinema… especially when dealing with a time period as complex and politically charged as the Crusades.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: In another recent documentary, The Jewish Shadow, you address the condition of Ukrainian Jews in the 1970s, under soviet rule. What did you choose to highlight about their condition—and how it has been evolving after the Soviet Union’s fall?

  Igal Hecht: The Jewish Shadow is an incredibly personal film. It was shot long before the war in Ukraine, and it focuses on the life my parents lived under Soviet rule.  To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. This is not because it isn’t a good film, but because of how I approached it. I told my parents we were making a family roots documentary, but in reality, I pushed them to confront the antisemitism they endured. In the end, I apologized to them for putting them through that.

  Ukraine has a dark and undeniable history of antisemitism. One that still lingers in certain parts of the country today. But when the war broke out, it complicated everything. I had to grapple with the realization that my view of Ukraine is shaped by generations of Jewish persecution, whereas my parents, despite everything they went through, still have a deep attachment to the place. They lived there. They had friends, careers, and a sense of home… even if antisemitism was a constant shadow over their existence.

  That, in many ways, encapsulates Jewish life in the Diaspora. We integrate, contribute, and flourish; until history repeats itself. Until the inevitable moment when we are reminded that, no matter how much we belong, we will always be seen as different. And because of that so-called difference in the minds of antisemites, the hatred against us is justified. Or, as we are seeing now in places like Canada and many parts of Europe even celebrated and encouraged.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Thank you for your time. Is there anything you would add?

  Igal Hecht: You can watch The Killing Roads at www.thekillingroads.com or catch it on the Documentary Channel at www.documentarychannel.com.   For additional information about Igal Hecht and his films, visit www.chutzpaproductions.com


That conversation was originally published on Gatestone Institute, in March 2025

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canadia, Donald Trump, Easter in the Holy Land, genocide, Grégoire Canlorbe, Igal Hecht, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott, The Abraham Accords, The Jewish Shadow, The Killing Roads, Ukraine

A conversation with Abdelkrim Qissi, for The Postil Magazine

A conversation with Abdelkrim Qissi, for The Postil Magazine

by Grégoire Canlorbe · Déc 1, 2021

Abdelkrim Qissi is a Belgian-Moroccan actor and boxer. A close collaborator of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Qissi notably played the antagonists Attila and Khan in two cult Van Damme films—namely Lionheart and The Quest. He is the brother of Mohamed Qissi, actor of Tong Po in Kickboxer and Moustafa in Lionheart.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Could you start by telling us about your coming co-directed movie Lopak l’Envoûteur [Lopak the Enchanter], which will be released in next April?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: Originally, I was called upon to act in a scene from a movie whose story revolved around a cannibalistic killer. The script was largely non-existent and the shooting improvised. Abel Ernest Tembo, who was in charge of directing, proposed to me that I appear in a few more sequences; what I accepted on the condition that we rework the story thoroughly and give the film a script worthy of the name. Ernest immediately accepted. I went into production and we agreed to make the film together. The work of the image, camera, light and grading would be mainly his doing; developing a story, playing the lead role, directing the cast and writing the script mostly mine. During the Covid period, a story was born, a new film was born, only the title remained. Then, a year ago, we started shooting what was now a feature-length film, a shooting almost finished as I speak to you [November 9, 2021]. I would like to salute the work of Abel Ernest Tembo, a man excellent with the image.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: In Lopak trailer, the character you play, Molosse, evokes the bees in a furtive and mysterious mode. Could you satisfy our curiosity by telling us what is going on with those insects in the scenario?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: I cannot say too much about the plot of the film at the moment; but Molosse in the scenario feels invested with a mission, that of “healing” humanity, whom he considers corrupted by greed and whom he aspires to turn into bees devoted to the common good. To that end, he uses hypnosis and a serum that, annihilating consciousness, leaves only the subconscious and unconscious. He hopes to put thus an end to borders and to all that divides humanity; and change the Earth into a perfectly balanced hive where everyone in its alveolus perfectly knows its place, its mission, and selflessly works for the hive’s well-being, where no one encroaches on anyone and where everyone support everyone. In his quest, Molosse will be led to do things that will trigger a whole tumult around him—whether on his family’s side, or on the side of his old friends.

  As it stands, so, I prefer to avoid revealing too much about the film itself and its message; but to those young and not so young who have the desire to shoot their own feature films and who, nevertheless, are reluctant to run to fill out files, submit requests to commissions, receive financial aid, the work embodied in the film sends the following message. “Do not wait to be supported, taken seriously, introduced to big names; take your camera and shoot. Let the big names come to you as you build your own success.” To those young and not so young who have the desire to shoot their own film, who have the talent and the passion but are not particularly well known to the general public nor really involved in the right networks, I venture to hope that Lopak the Enchanter will prove that, whatever the means they originally have, the people they surround themselves with at the very beginning, it is possible for them to achieve their goal and make the film of their dreams happen.

Abdelkrim Qissi (on the right) and Grégoire Canlorbe (on the left)

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Alongside Mohamed Qissi and Kamel Krifa, you played in Lionheart (also known as Full Contact). How did the three of you end up on the set?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: Jean-Claude is a boy I have known since his childhood. I met him in a sports center where both (as well as my brother, Mohamed) came to train, where Jean-Claude practiced karate (with Claude Goetz); and for my part, boxing. I also met there, among others, Jean-Pierre Valère, who was kind enough to agree to appear briefly in Lopak. When they met, Jean-Claude and Mohamed became more than friends: inseparable, fusional, they were truly brothers. It was not uncommon for Jean-Claude to come to sleep at home.

  One fine day, sharing the same dream of breaking into the cinema, both left for America. After long years of sufferings and adventures, they made this dream come true by playing in Bloodsport, then Kickboxer. I cannot accurately relate the circumstances that led to my participation at the age of 29 in the filming of Full Contact. But briefly, they boil down to the fact that I was Mohamed’s brother (who had just played Tong Po in Kickboxer); and that he and Jean-Claude offered me and the producers that I take on the role of Attila. I was very happy with that offer and jumped at the chance. As for Kamel it is a friend that we encountered in Brussels, that is how he too found himself by our side on the set of Full Contact.

From the left to the right: Abdelkrim Qissi, Kamel Krifa, and Mohamed Qissi in their roles in Full Contact

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Lionheart’s final fight pits Leon Gaultier, character played by JCVD, against a brutal fighter who is nonetheless affectionate towards his cat. Leon, suffering from a broken rib, progressively lets himself dominated at first; then takes over in extremis over the character you play, Attila. How did the idea for such choreography come to the film crew? How was the filming, the application, of that idea?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: Contrary to the idea of ​​the white cat, which is an improvisation during the shooting, the idea that Leon takes the upper hand over Attila when everyone (including his trainer) thinks him to be losing is an idea of ​​the scenario. It was not elaborated when the choreography was being designed. Jean-Claude nevertheless participated in the writing of the screenplay; just as the choreographies of Lionheart are all his doing. Both ideas sound good to me—and constitutive of what makes the film’s aura more than thirty years after its release.

  The touching affection that Attila has for his pet, which he shows by taking advantage of Leon being momentarily on the ground to stroke his cat, contrasts with what is, besides, the brutality of the character. A contrast that the film emphasizes in its visual symbolism by making Attila all dressed in black whereas his cat, for his part, is entirely white. The cat in question, which, again, was not intended in the scenario (if I correctly remember), was the one of a member of the film crew. The inner strength that manifests itself in the character of Jean-Claude just after his trainer in person, Joshua, confesses to him that he does not trust him and that he himself has bet on Attila, that rage to defeat himself in order to triumph over his opponent and prove to Joshua that he made a “wrong bet” (a reply which is, besides, at the origin of one of the film’s titles), that desire coming from the depths of his heart which allows Leon to overcome the pain and to defeat Attila even though the latter, in plain view, was largely dominating him until then, offers the film one of its most beautiful scenes.

Attila (played by Abdelkrim Qissi) stroking his cat, in Lionheart

  Grégoire Canlorbe: You play Khan, Mongolian champion with whom the character of JCVD ​​fights at the end of The Quest. JCVD directed that film; but years before he had already served, unofficially, as an editor to Bloodsport. What makes the two films so different despite their partly similar plot? How did you work with JCVD ​​to come up with a final fight that be even more impressive than the one between JCVD ​​and Bolo Yeung [at the end of Bloodsport]?

Abdelkrim Qissi: A major difference between Bloodsport and The Quest is, it seems to me, that Jean-Claude had the opportunity to work with professional fighters in The Quest; while the tournament participants in Bloodsport were played by people who were a bit less pros in the field of martial art. Another major difference is that, in The Quest, Jean-Claude had matured since Bloodsport and was then at the peak of his physical and mental form. The exotic landscapes in The Quest, the richness of the animal cast (including the elephant and the horses), the beauty of the image (including the care given to the colors), all that contributes to what makes Jean-Claude’s film so different from Bloodsport released almost ten years before. However, I would regret that the human relations in The Quest were somewhat put in the background during the filming; I believe, because of a timing problem or a problem arisen in production.

Abdelkrim Qissi as Khan, Mongolian champion, in The Quest

  Jean-Claude is an excellent choreographer and, on Full Contact like on The Quest, trusted himself for the design of the fights; also, on Full Contact like on The Quest, he adapted the choreography for the final fight to my martial style, to what I’m best able to do in an arena. Whether it is the confrontation between Attila and Leon Gaultier in Full Contact or the one between Khan and Christopher Dubois in The Quest, of which the fight at the end of Lionheart was ultimately the prelude, no stand-in nor any special effect nor any stunt carried out by someone else were required. Shooting the choreography was for Jean-Claude and me an easy, joyful, and quick exercise. If I remember correctly, on the set of The Quest, Jean-Claude and I worked only nine hours—three times three hours over three days—developing our choreography from Jean-Claude’s general idea. A German steadicamer on the set of The Quest said of Jean-Claude and I that we were “like the fingers of the hand” given how we knew each other, understood each other, and had blind confidence in each other in the choreography’s execution; given how our moves, with meticulous precision, were easy for us and resembled a ballet; given how our blows espoused each other without ever hurting nor touching each other.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: You traveled to Israel for the filming of The Order, by Sheldon Lettich (who years before had directed and co-written Lionheart). What do you remember from your stay in the holy land?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: I had great times with Sheldon; he’s a very nice guy, just like Peter MacDonald. I believe that Jean-Claude, by offering me a sort of cameo in The Order, intended to make a nice eyewink to my previous performances in the roles of Attila and Khan, two characters united into one in “the Big Arab” whom I briefly interpret in The Order. Regarding Jerusalem, what struck me about that city is the conjunction of holiness and violence that reigns within it, the spectacle of both beauty and injustice that it offers. All the more as our subconscious associates Jerusalem with the battles and bloodshed of which it has been the theatre throughout history.

  The little Palestinian people is a brilliant people who has gone through very hard times over the centuries. Does the Israeli government really have a stake in peace—given that Israel would then no longer be in a position to continue its nibbling on territories? Do Fatah, in power in the West Bank, and Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, really have a stake in the war’s ending–given that the financial rent they derive from the military conflict would itself cease on that occasion? For the Palestinian Authority, wouldn’t stopping the attacks, reprisals, and rocket fires be the best weapon against Israel—given that it would deprive Israel of any justification for its settlement policy and force nations in the whole world to take the side of the Palestinians against the Israelis? Being not in the know, I do not want to make any assertion; but only to raise a number of questions that, in my opinion, are worth asking. Let me add that a religious government, as is the case of Hamas, is, in my eyes, a foolish and disastrous thing; since such a government could never represent the entire population, some individuals being firmly religious, others not or even not at all. It is much wiser for a government to refrain from imposing any dogma or rite regarding religion; and to recognize in everyone the freedom to practice or not some spirituality and the freedom to practice it in the way that suits him personally. Such would be one of the pillars of my policy if I were to find myself at the head of the Palestinian Authority; but being not a man of power, I no more aspire to occupy such a position than I would be able to hoist myself into it.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: With regard to the Koran, do you believe that it should be taken literally—or that it contains an allegorical meaning that should be deciphered with the help of ancillary knowledge?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: First of all, please know that I am in no way claiming that what I am telling you is the truth; it is only my conception of the truth. I am submitting it to you in the framework of an exchange, not of a debate. I don’t just deny myself the status of teacher, preacher or preacher; I see it as an incompatibility with well-understood spirituality, which is a personal, intimate affair. What I understand about the Quran is that a huge gulf exists between the word interpreted and taught by men and the WORD drawn directly from the source (the Book itself). Allah, I understand him as the source of all that exists; so that God is both present in His creation and located upstream from it. It is impossible to love God without loving His creation which prolongs it: impossible to love Allah, he who is in the trees, if the wood is cut without moderation; impossible to love him, He who is in the human, if one hurts one’s neighbor. The words of the Koran (which it is customary to recite in singing it) are not only made to rock, cuddle, the ears of the devotee. That is the lowest, most superficial, level of listening there is, the furthest from what is attentive listening to what the Koran seeks to communicate to us and make us understand.

Abdelkrim Qissi (on the right) as The Big Arab and Jean-Claude Van Damme (on the left) as Rudy Cafmeyer in The Order

  I didn’t learn Arabic at school; I learned it late, when I applied myself to reading a comparative edition of the Koran including the original text in Arabic and a French translation. The main words of the Book, what I call the catchwords, resonate differently from anything I have been taught. Often they are not even translated. Here are some examples of those words: Allah, Islam, Muslim, Koran, Jihad. Those words have very precise and deep meanings, characteristics and specificities. I’m not going to teach you what they mean, because that is research unique to each of us. What I can say and repeat is that there is a huge gulf between what you have been taught and what the Quran can teach you. Many counterfeiters have seized the content to use it for their own ends. Such is what created the innumerable religions, themselves divided into different sects, schools and currents of thought. To conclude my answer: from my reading, I do not see any contradiction in the Book, I do not see any violence. I perceive only love for God in it and that goes without saying, for His creation as well.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Tell us about your meetings with Roger Moore (on the set of The Quest) and Charlton Heston (on the set of The Order). What is your favorite James Bond?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: The shootings of The Quest and The Order were effectively the occasion of magnificent encounters: Pjetër Malota (who played the Spanish fighter in The Quest), Takis Triggelis (who played the French fighter), Cesar Carneiro (who played the Brazilian fighter), Stefanos Miltsanakis (who played the Greek fighter—and who passed away two years ago, God rest his soul!), Janet Gunn (who played the journalist), Roger Moore (God rest his soul!), and many others. The four and a half months that The Quest team spent in Thailand allowed me to closely interact with Roger Moore to the point where he became a friend; as well as his wife, with whom I have had long discussions around spirituality, being myself sick of spirituality as you must have noticed. Moore was an extraordinary man; of unparalleled kindness, simplicity, and humanism, he warmly encouraged me, as well as the youth in general. Unlike Roger Moore on the set of The Quest, Charlton Heston remained somewhat aloof, withdrawn, on the set of The Order; and had a very small role, so he didn’t stay long on the spot. Being then of a very advanced age already, I think he was a little tired. He nevertheless gave me the impression of a respectful and respectable gentleman, of great kindness.

Mongolian champion (played by Abdelkrim Qissi) having just defeated, killed, Siamese champion (played by Jen Sung), in the Quest

  As for my opinion on the evolution of the James Bond, it seems to me futile to want to compare them given how the historical contexts, perceptions of the character, filmic means, are each time different. It would be like pretending to compare Mohamed Ali, Mike Tyson, and Joe Louis! Roger Moore in James Bond evoked Simon Templar, alias “the Saint,” and Lord Brett Sinclair, the sidekick of Tony Curtis’ Daniel Wilde in The Pretenders. Moore played a gallant, charming, light Bond, devoid of the slightest hint of violence, not less than strong and talented. Sean Connery and Roger Moore are the only James Bond that we can almost classify in the same category: by the finesse, the tact, which they have in common and that is ultimately lacking in the others (all the more as the more recent episodes put the action forward). Some say Daniel Craig is the best James Bond, I don’t agree. Pierce Brosnan, for example, was not bad at all, as well as a Timothy Dalton already in a more violent register as would be, nearly twenty years later, Daniel Craig.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Who from Tong Po or Chong Li [antagonist in Bloodsport] would win if they fought with each other? Same question for Attila and Khan

  Abdelkrim Qissi: Regarding Tong Po versus Chong Li: if we talk about the actors, I think that my brother, a professional boxer, would win against Bolo Yeung, who, to my knowledge, is an accomplished actor without really being an experienced martial artist or boxer. Now, if we talk about the characters, it seems to me that, by comparing the performances of Tong Po and Chong Li in their respective films, the former is clearly more dangerous, more gifted, more powerful, in Kickboxer than the latter is in Bloodsport; so that, if they were to come face to face, Tong Po would win hands-down over Chong Li. Regarding Khan versus Attila, it seems to me that the former’s power (including mental) in The Quest is without comparison with that of the latter in Full Contact; and that the Mongol would be the big winner in a hypothetical confrontation with Attila.

Abdelkrim Qissi as Attila, Khan, and The Big Arab

  Grégoire Canlorbe: Thank you for your time. Would you like to add something?

  Abdelkrim Qissi: We talked about thriller and action movie; but I must confess that my personal preference as a spectator goes to contemplative, spiritual films. So I haven’t seen most of Jean-Claude’s films (including Legionnaire, of which one spoke highly to me of the introductory boxing sequence). There are certainly thrillers and action films with a contemplative, spiritual dimension, and that I particularly appreciate for that. Among other examples, Gladiator, by Ridley Scott; or Heat, by Michael Mann.


That conversation was originally published in The Postil Magazine’s December 2021 issue

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Abdelkrim Qissi, Full Contact, Grégoire Canlorbe, Islam, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, James Bond, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kamel Krifa, Lionheart, Michel Qissi, Mohamed Qissi, Roger Moore, The Order, The Quest

Why French nationalism should embrace Judeophilia and Zionism

Why French nationalism should embrace Judeophilia and Zionism

by Grégoire Canlorbe · Avr 3, 2019

 Warning [December 2021]. Since many years, already, Grégoire Canlorbe is now totally retired from politics and no longer has any responsibility in any political party. As it stands, he has no affiliation to any political structure; and has no affiliation to any institute or ideological organization.  His ideas also have much evolved since this article, which he doesn’t endorse anymore. Canlorbe used to be a sort of neoconservative with alt-right tendencies (as exemplified with this article); but he no longer has any alt-right tendencies nor any neoconservative tendencies.

  As thorny as the issue of the Indo-European character—at a linguistic, genetic, or ideological level—of the Jewish ethnicity may be, Judaism has been decisive in edifying, and enriching, the Aryano-Christian civilization of the white race.[i] Indeed, there is little doubt that Indo-European peoples have indulged in the cultural appropriation of the sacred texts of Judaism; and that the Old Testament, its myths and its conceptions at large, has played a role in Christian Europe not less determining than the Greco-Roman heritage at large. There is also little doubt that the aristocratic-warlike ethos (which intends to design society for the benefit of aristocrats searching for individual fulfillment, and individual recognition, through their military exploits) is not only common to all Indo-European peoples, but besides, characterizes the Old Testament and the other sacred texts of Judaism.

  An example between thousands of the happy marriage between the Indo-European Weltanschauung and Judaism is that of the coronation of the kings of France, the French royalty honoring David and Solomon and seeing itself as the continuation of the kingdom of Judah: this is how the hyacinth of the mantle worn during the coronation evokes the garment of the high priest of Israel (which represents not only the nation but the universe taken as a whole); and how the future king, during the ceremony, is given a ring that symbolizes the Catholic faith, but also a scepter and a hand of justice that refers to David. Concerning the celestial mantle, various kings and emperors were using it since the Ottonians: let us mention in particular that of Henry II, preserved in Bamberg and covered with embroideries which describe situations of the Bible and celestial constellations. Recognizing himself in the music-loving character of David, Louis XIV had the painting of David playing the harp (painted by Domenico Zampieri) installed in his apartments.

[Read more…] about Why French nationalism should embrace Judeophilia and Zionism

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: aristocratic-warlike ethos, Aryans, Benjamin Netanyahu, ecology, Éliphas Lévi, empire, George Gilder, Henry de Lesquen, Indo-European tradition, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Karim Ouchikh, Ovadia Yosef, Renaud Camus, Talmud, Temple at Jerusalem, Tomáš Sedláček, Viktor Orbán

A conversation with former Czech President Václav Klaus, for John Bolton’s Gatestone Institute

A conversation with former Czech President Václav Klaus, for John Bolton’s Gatestone Institute

by Grégoire Canlorbe · Nov 30, 2018

Vaclav_Klaus_headshot  Václav Klaus is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998. He is known for his euroscepticism, denial of man-caused global warming, opposition to mass immigration, and support of free market capitalism.

  This conversation with Grégoire Canlorbe took place in Paris, in December 2017. It was first published on John Bolton’s Gatestone Institute. You may find the Czech translation here.

  Grégoire Canlorbe: People are often defined by a common worldview rather than by genetics or where they live. In view of the situation in the Czech Republic, do you agree?

  Václav Klaus: I would return the issue to the defense of the Nation-State. I truly believe in the Nation-State, therefore I am so critical of the continental ambitions of many European officials. I do not believe in the European Union or the European integration. This is for me the starting point.

  For me, the Nation-State is the only possible way to have democracy. Democracy simply cannot exist at a higher level, as in continents, let alone global democracy in the world. So, my starting point is the Nation-State, the defense of the Nation-State, and the fighting continental integration.

  In this respect, I am in favor of Trump. Donald Trump is not my cup of tea personally, intellectually, but his position on many issues is a positive one. I especially think of his refusal to sign the Paris Agreement, his important speeches like that in Warsaw in the summer or that in the United Nations in September, defending the Nation-States, culture, traditions, habits, mores and behaviors, lifestyles. It is something that I feel is with Trump, something that Hillary Clinton would never, never say.

[Read more…] about A conversation with former Czech President Václav Klaus, for John Bolton’s Gatestone Institute

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Czech Republic, Donald Trump, European Union, Grégoire Canlorbe, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, mass migration, Nation-State, ré-émigration, Václav Klaus

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