GHANIMAH
The war on terror, the 7/7 bombings, the loss of the son's mother and the allegiance to either Islam or Britain. What will unfold. Family, Duty or Honour? A heated argument occurs when Abdullah (Mikhail Sen - House of Dragon, A Suitable Boy) declares he is joining the British Military to the shock of his pacifist father Omar (Adil Akram - What's Love got to do with it?) and anger of his fundamentalist older brother Moh (James El-Sharawy - Tyrant, EastEnders). As their debate unfurls past resentments and revelations rise to the surface, boiling to a point where they can no longer contain themselves.
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Sai karan TalwarDirector
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Sai Karan TalwarWriter
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Adi AlfaProducerUncle, 'Til Death, Traces
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Sai Karan TalwarProducer
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Shamender TalwarProducer
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Mikhail SenKey Cast"Abdullah"House of Dragon, A Suitable Boy
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Adil AkramKey Cast"Omar"Spectre, What's Love got to do with it?
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James El-SharawyKey Cast"Moh "Tyrant, Eastenders
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama
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Runtime:8 minutes 51 seconds
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Completion Date:December 11, 2022
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Production Budget:8,750 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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11th Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival-22Mumbai
India
December 11, 2022
Official Selection - CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE -
Oaxaca FilmFestOaxaca
Mexico
Official Selection -
Nepal Human Rights International Film FestivalKathmandu
Nepal
December 21, 2022
Official Selection -
Newham Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
WINNER - Best Actor (Mikhail Sen) & NOMINEE - Best Actor (Adil Akram) -
Pambujan International Film FestivalNorthern Samar
Philippines
January 16, 2023
Official Selection -
Tagore International Film FestivalWest Bengal
India
January 21, 2023
WINNER - Best Debut Filmmaker & OUTSTANDING ACHEIVEMENT AWARD - Best Short Film -
Bharat International Film FestivalMumbai
India
January 22, 2023
Official Selection -
10th Noida International Film Festival-2023Noida
India
January 29, 2023
Official Selection - Certificate of Excellence -
Indian Panorama International Film FestivalMumbai
India
February 1, 2023
Official Selection -
Samskara International Film FestivalUttar Pradesh
India
February 18, 2023
WINNER - BEST 2ND ACTOR (Mikhail Sen) -
Chennai International Documentary and Short Film FestivalChennai
India
February 20, 2023
Official Selection -
Darbhanga International Film FestivalBihar
India
February 24, 2023
Official Selection -
New Delhi Film FestivalNew Delhi
India
March 26, 2023
WINNER - BEST SHORT FILM -
13th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival-23Delhi
India
April 30, 2023
Official Selection -
Rochester International Film FestivalNew York
United States
Certificate of Merit -
Asia South East Short Film FestivalPhnom Penh
Cambodia
Special Mention -
IFF Integrazione Film FestivalBergamo
Italy
Semifinalist -
UK Asian Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
May 13, 2023
UK Premiere
Finalist -
Pune Short Film FestivalPune
India
May 26, 2023
Official Selection -
Wolverhampton Film FestivalWolverhampton
United Kingdom
May 26, 2023
WINNER (HONOURABLE MENTION AWARD) & NOMINEE (Best Male Actor - Adil Akram & First Time Filmmaker) -
12th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival-23Bangalore
India
June 18, 2023
Special Festival Mention -
Brighton Rocks International Film FestivalBrighton
United Kingdom
July 20, 2023
Official Selection -
Ignite Film FestivalSwindon
United Kingdom
June 22, 2023
Official Selection -
Dances With FilmsLos Angeles, California
United States
June 26, 2023
North American Premiere
Official Selection -
Figari International Short Film Market
Official Selection -
Rob Knox London Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
July 8, 2023
WINNER (Best Screenplay) -
WorldFest-Houston International Film FestivalHouston, Texas
United States
Remi Award Finalist -
Nawada International Film FestivalNawada, Bihar
India
July 11, 2023
WINNER (Best Short Film) -
Swindon Independent Film FestivalSwindon
United Kingdom
July 27, 2023
NOMINEE (Best Actor - Adil Akram) -
No Coast Film FestivalEmporia, Kansas
United States
August 25, 2023
Official Selection -
Richmond International Film FestivalRichmond, Virginia
United States
Finalist -
LA Indie Film FestivalLos Angeles, California
United States
September 7, 2023
Official Selection -
LA Asian Film FestivalLos Angeles
United States
Official Selection -
21st Oakland International Film FestivalOakland, California
United States
September 19, 2023
Official Selection -
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film FestivalProvidence, Rhode Island
United States
Semifinalist -
North East International Film FestivalNewcastle
United Kingdom
September 25, 2023
Official Selection -
Spirit of Independence Film FestivalSheffield
United Kingdom
September 29, 2023
Official Selection -
Worcester Film FestivalWorcester
United Kingdom
October 4, 2023
Nominee - Best Screenplay -
Urban Mediamakers FestivalLiburn, GA
United Kingdom
October 9, 2023
Official Selection -
British Urban Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
October 17, 2023
NOMINEE (Best Actor) -
Milton Keynes International Film FestivalMilton Keynes
United Kingdom
October 21, 2023
WINNER - BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR -
12th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival-23Delhi
October 29, 2023
Official Selection -
Big Syn International Film Festival, LondonLondon
United Kingdom
November 10, 2023
Official Selection -
Goa Short Film FestivalGoa
India
November 4, 2023
Official Selection -
Waterford International Film FestivalWaterford
Ireland
Official Selection -
DC South Asian Film FestivalWashington DC
United States
Official Selection -
Ayodhya Film FestivalHukumpura, Uttar Pradesh
India
December 2, 2023
WINNER (Best International Short Film) -
Lisbon Film RendezvousLisbon
Portugal
December 5, 2023
Official Selection -
Florida South Asian Film FestivalTampa, Florida
United States
December 23, 2023
Official Selection -
NewFilmmakers NYNew York
United States
January 1, 2024
Official Selection -
Covent Garden Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
February 2, 2024
NOMINEE (Best Writer & Best Ensemble) -
Dadasaheb Phalke International Film FestivalMumbai
India
February 20, 2024
Official Selection -
NC South & East Asian International Film FestivalCary, North Carolina
United States
May 4, 2024
Official Selection
Sai Karan Talwar is an award-winning writer and director. He is a 2023 Alumni of the Respectability Entertainment Lab, with over forty accolades as a writer in some of the most esteemed screenwriting competitions. His Debut ‘GHANIMAH’ is a BAFTA & BIFA Qualified Short Film, that has been selected at just over 50 film festivals, with 11 wins (4 for Best Film) and over a dozen nominations, the film is about Islamic enrolment into the British Military. His upcoming short ‘What Men Do for Love’ is a 15-minute single take film about the masculine ego at breaking point, that will hit festivals this summer.
Film has always been a passion for Sai dating back to growing up in his late Grandfather’s video shop. Initially working with MADE from 2016, a charitable organization with a vision to reduce discrimination against BAME & LGBTQ+ Londoners. With MADE, he ran filmmaking workshops, screening events, held exhibitions at BFI Southbank and co-produced over 30 short films with 100,000+ online views. He worked in production companies such as Origin Pictures and 42 Management and Production within the development departments. He studied Economics and Finance at Durham University, leading to his undergraduate dissertation: ‘What are the key determinants of success for the box office within the UK motion picture industry?’ which received a first. Sai is currently a fellow in the BBC Writersroom Writer’s Access Group.
Recent statistics published by the Ministry of Defence indicate that there are 650 Muslims serving in the UK armed services and of these, 550 are in the British Army, constituting 0.5% of the total. Highlighting an interesting and controversial subject that hasn’t been covered widely in the media. GHANIMAH is now BIFA qualifying and BAFTA qualifying film and we have been so grateful for the support and the journey so far!
Our key motivation for this project was to shine a light on Islam, which tends to only be represented in terms of violence and hate. The Quran is much denser and more complicated than what is interpreted and presented in the modern media, and in some cases even when presented with sympathy, it is inherently vilified. In the world we live in today, it goes unsaid how relevant the topic is and the resonance it will have with an audience. Via our characters we are exploring why certain ideologies around Islam exist and the angst that surrounds these given interpretations.
We see so few quality projects about the non-white British experience, it feels like every story about Muslims centres on a young person being radicalised, these are perpetual two-dimensional stereotypes for ethnic minorities. Hence, giving us a strong motivation to put together this project. We have also seen many South Asian or Muslim actors offered terrorist roles, they are all frustrated that they do not get interesting characters, and that their faith tends to only be represented in terms of violence and hate. We are looking to expand the scope of what it means to be an immigrant in the UK through this narrative. To the extent, where we had to independently finance the project on a very low budget and shoot in one day in order to get the film made.
We feel it roots down to the concept of hereditary dread; the atavistic sins of the father passing onto the son whether it is in the Godfather, East of Eden, All my Sons or House of Strangers. As well as the traditional idea of the burden of the brother, best exemplified in films such as: On the Waterfront, Rocco and his brothers, Mean Streets and Mickey & Nicky. However, we are transposing these mid twentieth century examples onto not just the British Muslim experience and what it means to be a Muslim in the western world, but the immigrant disposition in a post-Brexit Britain. An ideological battle between the three men versed in their shared holy doctrine yet hold differing interpretations. It is as much influenced from the works of Ibsen to Mamet, Kazan to Coppola, as it is by the Quran, and the politics of today. A film that feels raw and rooted in reality, yet stylish in composition only accompanied by it's rhythmic back and forth repartee, playing out like a piece of musical theatre where the lyrics are substituted with cutting and socially relevant dialogue, something I believe that has been missing from dramatic cinema in decades; an important subject enhanced by it's stylistic flourishes.