|
Set in suburban Britain, the film follows a
south Asian family as its members prepare for a wedding. Their
world is turned upside down when a group of white armed men
violently bursts into their home.
"I understand that for a lot of people, they can watch a film
like this and say: ‘...you're trying to make a political
statement’, but I think it's really a position of privilege to
be able to look at someone like this and say: ‘Oh, that's
political. That's something that just lives in the headlines,"
Ahmed told Reuters in an interview.
"For many of us, this is very personal. Smaller versions of this
really impinge on daily lives ... The bigger nightmare that this
film portrays is one that really keeps us up at night."
The 12-minute film shares it name with the 2020 album by Ahmed,
who was born in London to Pakistani parents. The record also
addresses racism.
"The larger concept of the film is ... something that plays on
our minds and I think plays on the minds of millions of people
around the world who may feel like they are in danger in the
context of the rising tide of intolerance we're seeing around
the world," he said.
Karia said he and Ahmed, the first Muslim to get a best actor
Oscar nomination, embarked on the project after some heartfelt
talks.
“We began a series of conversations about how we felt in that
particular moment in life and what it was that was charging us
both creatively and as human beings," he said.
"And through two or three kind of long conversations, we began
to find this idea and start owning it."
"The Long Goodbye" was named in the Oscar shortlist for the best
live action short film category. Official nominations will be
announced on Feb 8.
(Reporting by Chiara Rodriquez; writing by Marie-Louise
Gumuchian; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
