Is Ali chtatbi the next Stanley Kubrick ?

Redefining Acting and Directing for a Visually Fluent Generation

In Hollywood, the comparison to Stanley Kubrick is not made lightly. Kubrick was not just a director; he was an architect of cinema who reshaped the very grammar of film. His obsession with detail, precision, and innovation turned every project into a landmark. Now, a bold young voice is emerging with the same kind of audacity—Ali Chtatbi, a 24-year-old Moroccan-born screenwriter and film science researcher, who is challenging one of acting’s most sacred traditions: Method Acting.

For decades, Method Acting has been the dominant technique in Hollywood. From Marlon Brando to Daniel Day-Lewis, the approach has fueled unforgettable performances rooted in deep personal immersion. But Chtatbi believes that the Method has reached its limits in today’s hyper-visual world. His solution? A revolutionary framework he calls Cinematic Internal Montage Acting (CIMA)—a blueprint that could transform how actors approach their craft.

Breaking Free from the Method’s Cage

Method Acting asks actors to mine their own memories and emotions to embody a character. While this has produced brilliance, it has also left behind a trail of stories about psychological strain and extreme physical transformations. Actors like Heath Ledger and Christian Bale pushed themselves to the edge, blurring the line between performance and self-destruction.

Chtatbi, writing in his widely shared Medium essays, argues that this kind of immersion often traps actors in their own memories instead of liberating them to fully embrace the cinematic experience. “The Method became a long-term, ongoing process that often traps the actor inside their own memory,” he says, “when cinema has given us an entire shared language to draw from.”

Enter CIMA: Acting in Shots, Not Just Feelings

What makes Chtatbi’s vision so radical is his insistence that actors should think like directors, editors, and audiences simultaneously. Instead of relying solely on personal pain to channel heartbreak, an actor practicing CIMA might internally “montage” iconic cinematic moments: Ingrid Bergman’s quiet sorrow in Casablanca, the fractured grief in Manchester by the Sea, the haunting rhythm of Blade Runner’s rain-soaked farewell.

“It’s about turning the inner life of the actor into a cinematic composition,” Chtatbi explains. “We’ve all been shaped by the grammar of movies—the pacing of a shot, the rhythm of a cut, the way a camera moves. CIMA teaches actors to bring that grammar into their subconscious process, so they’re not just feeling a scene, they’re composing it as they live it.”

This approach reimagines acting as a collaborative art form. Directors could benefit from performers who already think in terms of shots and sequences, creating performances that align more seamlessly with the film’s visual design.

The Psychology Behind the Revolution

Chtatbi’s method also draws from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, borrowing visualization techniques used by athletes and musicians. In workshops with indie filmmakers, actors practiced “internal montages” during rehearsals—rapidly associating emotions with filmic references. The result? Less emotional exhaustion, more creative empowerment, and performances described as sharper and more intentional.

A Kubrickian Mindset

So why the Kubrick comparison? Like the legendary director, Chtatbi is less interested in conforming to tradition and more interested in rewriting it. Kubrick turned cameras, editing, and narrative structure into psychological tools. Chtatbi is applying the same philosophy to performance, treating acting not as raw improvisation but as a carefully engineered cinematic experience.

Critics argue that CIMA risks intellectualizing performance, but Chtatbi is unapologetic. He sees today’s audiences as visually fluent—raised on streaming platforms, YouTube, TikTok, and VR—and believes actors must evolve accordingly. “We’re living in an age where audiences are more visually literate than ever,” he insists. “The next generation of actors needs a method that speaks their language—and cinema is their language.”

The Road Ahead

Chtatbi is already expanding his vision with online tutorials and a forthcoming book, aiming to democratize the technique beyond elite acting schools. His goal is not to destroy the Method but to upgrade it, building a bridge between classical traditions and modern cinematic literacy.

Whether CIMA becomes a full-scale movement or remains a tool for adventurous actors, Chtatbi has made one thing clear: he is not afraid to challenge Hollywood orthodoxy. Like Kubrick, he is obsessed with detail, innovation, and the possibilities of cinema.

And in an industry wrestling with AI-generated content and rapidly shifting formats, a human-centered revolution in acting might be exactly what Hollywood needs.

Ali Chtatbi may just be the next Kubrick—not because he imitates him, but because he dares to ask the same dangerous question: What if the old ways are no longer enough?