Mira Nair's take on 9/11 among opening fare at 8th IFFK
08th Dec 2003
13.47 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Noted NRI director Mira Nair's short film on September 11, based on a real life incident involving an American Muslim boy, will be among the opening fare at the 8th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), starting in Thiruvananthapuram later this week.
Nair's film was part of a series of 11 short films by leading directors from different countries on the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and other US landmarks on September 11, 2001.
The collection of 11 films, each of the duration of 11 minutes, nine seconds and one frame (11'9''01), was a talking point at the Toronto and Venice film festivals last year.
Mira Nair's vignette dramatises the real life story of Salman Hamdani, an American Muslim medical student who went missing in New York City after the attack and later became a terrorist suspect.
The all-American upbringing of the boy came to naught as his family saw neighbours and friends turn against them. Finally, it turned out that Salman had died helping people out of the World Trade Center tower that day. The members of the youth's family took part in the film.
Nair was later quoted as saying that she wanted to make a film about the reality of life for South Asians in New York City after September 11.
''Life has changed irrevocably, and I think forever. From New York to Jenin to Gujarat, the Islamophobia that has taken over the world disturbs me immensely. As a filmmaker, I thought it was about time we spoke up,'' the director of such popularly acclaimed films as 'Salaam Bombay' and 'Monsoon Wedding', told an ethnic Indian newspaper in the US.
While Mira Nair's short feature will share the honours with the Turkish feature film ''Encounters'' as the opening movies of the week-long IFFK, starting on December 12, the NRI director herself would not be present at the festival, sources at the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the organisers of the festival, said.
Noted NRI director Mira Nair's short film on September 11, based on a real life incident involving an American Muslim boy, will be among the opening fare at the 8th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), starting in Thiruvananthapuram later this week. 