Dancer, Choreographer, and Director Brings New Film Genres to the Maldives
Ravee Farooq is a self-educated Maldivian dancer, choreographer, actor, and film director. With a career spanning several decades, the 43-year-old is well-known in his country and has received two international awards for his experimental suspense thriller, Ingili.
Without any schools or dance classes in the Maldives, Ravee grew up surrounded by Bollywood music and movies, and learned by mimicking the steps of Indian performers. He was both a fast learner and a passionate dancer.
Adverse family events led him to drop out of school at the age of 13. With no realistic job prospects, he turned to a dance crew seeking new talent. The experience was disappointing and short-lived, as was the next one, and Ravee started teaching dance steps in a youth club, sharing his self-taught techniques and talent. “It was a learning experience for me because I started giving something to someone,” he said.
By the time he was 18, Ravee had created his own crew of six people. The crew was called “Comets,” which later became “Ghosts Dance Crew." They started performing on larger stages, launching Ravee’s career as a dancer. The crew is not active anymore.
Ravee Farooq’s Experience in Choreographing and Producing Music Videos
Ravee’s career took another turn when the crew was asked to provide choreography for video songs. He later became a choreographer for several local artists and Indian actresses, most of whom had no experience of stage performance, he said.
He went on to be a choreographer for movies and for concerts and started directing music videos in 2001.
Making a Breakthrough as an Actor and Film Director in the Maldives
After instructing the actors off-site, he accompanied them on the set. One day, he said, “I was having tea. The director came in and asked me to smile, so I did.” That sealed the deal and marked the beginning of Ravee’s acting career in 2005.
Seeing it as another challenge, Ravee took to learning and reading books about acting. “I wanted to teach people how to act because I did not like the way actors were performing.” Television producers, he said, “just needed content, they were not trying to develop talents.” “Actors and scriptwriters were not guided, and I wanted to bring the change.”
“I am pretty much stereotyped as a villain because for me, playing an angry man is a very easy thing to do,” he said. “You just have to shout, smash things, there is no inner turmoil, I am more into silent stuff.” “If any character is believable, then I am in for it.” Dark roles are an inspiration, he said. “When a person is bad, there is a reason for it.”
One thing led to another. After doing research on acting, he also learned about directing and embarked on yet another career path.
Ingili - An International Award-Winning Maldivian Film
In 2013, his movie “Ingili” became the first Maldivian film to win the Best Feature Film Bronze Medal at the SAARC Film Festival in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2014. It also won Best Film, Editor, and Director at the 3rd Maldivian Film Association Awards.
The movie, described as an experimental thriller, tells the story of a fisherman who becomes stranded on a deserted island and is offered a horrific bargain by a dark character. It features two characters in one location and unfolds over the course of one rainy night.
Ingili, however, has a story of its own. The screenwriter of the film introduced the idea by saying that he had read a short story while judging the National Short Story competition, which had the potential to introduce a new genre to the local film industry. In 2009, “He suggested I direct the movie,” Ravee said. After a fruitless search for a producer, Ravee and two of his friends, Hussain Munawwar and Mahdi Ahmed, pitched their own funds and produced it.
A set was built, and the movie was shot in two weeks. As Ravee began editing, one of his colleagues remarked that the same story idea had already been used in several movies. The whole team was disheartened, and for three years, the movie lay unachieved before the motivation returned, he said.
Shifting Maldivians’ Film Tastes Towards Independent Movies
When directing a movie, Ravee steers clear of money-driven filmmaking. His inspiration lies in human stories. “Wherever you go, you hear stories, very personal stories. They might not be unique, but they are interesting, and I always see a silver lining.”
In the early 2000s, with no internet, the main channel was television, and Bollywood movies and music heavily influenced the film and musical scenes in the Maldives. Ravee’s crew started mainly performing on those songs, driven by the audience’s tastes.
However, with the advent of cable television and streaming services, Ravee believes that the audience is getting tired of recycled concepts and growing an appetite for independent movies. “Over the last 15 years,” he said, “newcomers in the film industry have been trying to tell bold stories rather than the usual love triangles.”
Scarcity of Rehearsal and Film Production Studios in the Maldives
One of the main challenges met by dancers, entertainers, and filmmakers is the scarcity of space to work, rehearse, and produce, according to Ravee. With only one dance studio in the Maldives provided by the government, the place is packed and often overbooked, he said, adding that finding a filming location is difficult, driving filmmakers to ask people to lend their homes for shoots as a last resort.
Maldivian Film Distribution Channels Bottleneck
With only one cinema in the Maldives, in Malé, run and managed by the government, it is difficult to show all local productions. “I have three movies in line but am still waiting for the screening dates,” he said. Two private cinemas mostly screen international movies, with a cumbersome royalty distribution and a lack of promotion, he added.
Two streaming services operate in the Maldives, which is where most producers are aiming. However, he said, those services are mostly related to series. Streaming platforms are also prone to stream reaping, and takedown actions seem ineffective. Although it is disappointing, he said the reaping still allows wider attention to films.
Protecting Audiovisual Works through Copyright
Producers mainly hire Ravee to act, edit, or direct movies, he said, noting the general lack of education of people working in the audiovisual industry about copyright protection and ways to fight for their rights. “We are not well educated on how to fight against infringement, so we just let it be.”
He added that, as a scriptwriter and like many others in the audiovisual sector, he lacks awareness and knowledge about how to protect his copyright.
According to Maldivian experts, the Maldives Parliament has approved the country's signing of the Berne Convention.
The Difficult Road to Exporting Maldivian Movies Abroad
Very few movies are screened outside of the region, but many of them have participated in regional film festivals, Ravee said. Film festivals are an effective way to advertise movies, and the country, he said, noting that some find it surprising that the Maldives are even making movies. However, invitations often come too late to prepare for the event, and travel costs remain with the filmmakers. The financial challenge is often insurmountable for struggling producers and directors.
Ravee has also been writing movie scripts since 2020. One of his latest projects will feature all-male characters and tell the story of women and family through men's perspective. He is also working on an action movie series.
Ravee was a speaker in the 4th session of the WIPO Live Chat on May 27, 2025, in collaboration with the Maldives Department of Innovation and Creativity and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea, focusing on copyright in the audiovisual sector.
