Experiencing Interruptions?

The Call

During a difficult visit, a young woman grows concerned for her mother’s declining mental health. Piecing together the fragments of a distracted conversation, the wild ramblings eventually reveal a truth she was not expecting.

  • Riffy Ahmed
    Director
    Medea, Al Sarab
  • Vanessa Rose
    Writer
    O Black Hole!
  • Susan Simnett
    Producer
    Fadia's Tree, Baba,
  • Danielle Goff
    Producer
    Night of the Living Dread
  • Jo Martin
    Key Cast
    "Cora"
  • Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn
    Key Cast
    "Athena"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 20, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.00
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Susan Simnett
    Distributor
    Country: United Kingdom
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Riffy Ahmed

Riffy is a British Bangladeshi and Bahraini writer/director, and visual artist graduating in 2020 with an MA Directing Fiction from the National Film and Television School in the UK.

Her work has screened at Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festival and she is represented by Independent Talent for Film and TV.

Riffy has been selected as a WFTV All Nations England 2022 mentee, Circa X Dazed Finalist - Class of 2022, shortlisted for the 1.4 Awards, selected for the Bifa Springboard programme 21/22, BAFTA Connect, and for the Cowboy Films/Netflix TOP BOY director mentoring scheme, shadowing Myriam Raja and directing second unit. In addition, she was part of the 2016/2017 H. Club Foundation's Emerging Creative for Film and TV and featured as one of Channel 4’s Spotlight on Directors in 2018.

Riffy loves to tell stories about the ‘unlikely heroes’ we don’t always see on the big screen, particularly framed around women and diaspora identities. Her work is eclectic, cross-blending between genres through visceral forms of storytelling.

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Director Statement

I originally came across this story seeing it as a short play on stage and connected instantly; I literally saw myself and my mother. I knew in a heartbeat that this was a story I wanted to bring to life in film. I approached the writer, Vanessa, to develop this further from a BIPOC perspective and she was wonderfully collaborative.

This charming story is dedicated to immigrant, single parents who do everything to save their children from a hostile world, even if it means becoming a ‘superhero’ and saving the world too. It’s also about the kids that grow up with that love and hardship, constantly adapting to assimilate and ‘fit in’.

THE CALL is a contained yet layered story about the relationship between a mother and daughter / parent and child, the misunderstandings and power struggles that can occur in that dynamic. The mental health pressures that both generations experience and the ignored sacrifices on both parts can be misunderstood and yet reveal that they are more connected than they know through a shared gift and strength.