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New Zealand shooting
AsiaAustralasia

Too soon? New Zealand terror attack to be turned into feature film called Hello Brother

  • Egyptian producer Moez Masoud says the movie would be part of a ‘healing process’ to help people better understand the causes of hatred and racism
  • A Christchurch Muslim group says it’s not the right time

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Muslims enter the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch after it was reopened. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse
The New Zealand terror attack, in which a white supremacist slaughtered 51 Muslims, is to be turned into a feature film, its producer said on Wednesday, in an announcement that prompted a Christchurch Muslim group to raise concerns over the “dignity and privacy” of its community.

The project, to be called Hello Brother, will be about a family of refugees that flees Afghanistan for the safety of Christchurch, only to get caught up in the carnage, Egyptian producer Moez Masoud told Variety magazine in Cannes.

“In Christchurch, on March 15, the world witnessed an unspeakable crime against humanity,” Masoud said, adding members of his team were currently in New Zealand to meet survivors and families of the victims.

“The story that Hello Brother will bring to audiences is just one step in the healing process so that we might all better understand each other, and the root causes of hatred, racism, supremacy and terrorism.”

We have not had any proposal such as this presented to us nor have we agreed to it.
Muslim Association of Canterbury

The title is based on the words of welcome spoken by an elderly Afghan man, as he greeted the gunman at the doors of the Al Noor mosque. He was shot dead, but his words were taken up around the world as a rallying call against hate.

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