Chicago Feminist Film Festival - National Anthem
The Nation is overpopulated. Today, Immigrant Tulsi is called upon by Border Control to undertake the Government’s new, radical and highly-classified Citizenship Test or face immediate deportation.
Interview with Director Hamza Jeetooa
Watch National Anthem here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
A friend from New Zealand told us about the day he was declared a British citizen in a Citizenship Ceremony. After passing the requirements and Citizenship Test to become a citizen, he was invited to a small function in a state-room with a Ceremony Host, a framed picture of the Queen and a boombox. There, the new citizens repeat an Oath of Allegiance, are handed their citizenship certificates and sing along to the National Anthem being played on the boombox.
Natalie (writer of the film) and I were fascinated by this bizarreness of it all and how much the immigrants have to go through to be declared a citizen.
While researching the Citizenship Test immigrants are required to take, we found it ironic that many British-born people were unable to pass this test themselves!
There’s an absurdity in the formality and importance of this rite of passage to becoming a citizen. That's when we began to find an angle: we wanted to tell a dark, sign-of-the-times story that wickedly ventures even further into the absurd.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In light of Brexit and Donald Trump, the attitudes towards immigrants and immigration have come further to the forefront. The spectrum of opinion is wider. We want to put the audience member in the position of an immigrant facing a barbaric ultimatum.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The decision to base the Citizenship Test on ‘the elderly’ came from personal themes. Natalie felt similarities in negative attitudes towards old people, with many finding themselves marginalised by society. Pitting them up with immigrants, another group of ‘undesirables’ in society gave us underdogs for our story… People to think about differently, and hopefully root for.
To clarify, these views aren’t held by all nor are all immigrants and elderly people in these situations, but some are. And it’s important to highlight.
Overall, National Anthem is an underdog story, a universal theme of protecting one’s own family and giving them the best possible future. In this case it's a woman and a mother.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The plot initially revolved around the civil servants in the Nation’s Immigration/Border Control Department who were tasked with enrolling the new Citizenship Test. We looked at questioning their morals over duty. After developing this with B3 Talent Lab, Natalie decided to go in a different direction, to focus on the core conflict faced in this story: the immigrant’s plight. The stakes were much higher from this perspective and gave a bigger sense of fear and darkness in the story.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Luckily it has been overwhelmingly positive. Our favourite being that the film is “over very quickly” - we’ve been ruthless in the edit to make National Anthem as entertaining and fast-paced as possible. People have also said “What happens next?” and that it lends itself to a feature film to TV series. This has been something we have considered and have began working on.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not necessarily. These characters have all come from a bigger world we created during years of development, in this case the focus has been on the immigrant but in earlier drafts it was the Government department. National Anthem has the scope for a larger scale story to be told.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We Are Moving Stories is an amazing platform and movement. We would like National Anthem to be a part of a portfolio of great stories which can encourage users to donate to causes supported. We hope to also inspire filmmakers to go and tell the story they feel needs to be shared.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Everyone is MOST welcome! A previous short I directed was distributed by Pacific Voice and this is a brilliant way for your work to reach a larger audience. We are open to all avenues and are grateful to have a diverse story like ours seen by as many people as possible.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
A positive impact on people’s views of the elderly, many of whom have lived and worked within our communities throughout their life but risk being dismissed and isolated very quickly.
Also, we want the film to affect the way we view immigrants in Western countries. To see them as human beings, as individuals, and not be susceptible to political agendas which polarise and stigmatise groups of people. Immigration and migration have existed for centuries and rather than seeing it as ‘them’ and ‘us’, we want audiences to think about why people want to move somewhere in search of a better life. Everyone has a story.
Also… We want to poke some fun at the bizarre, stuffy ‘patriotism’ of it all!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What do you think a national Citizenship Test should entail?
Would you like to add anything else?
I’d like to highlight our drive to assembling a diverse team to tell our story. Our cast & crew comprised of 57% female talent and 38% BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) talent. This well above the national industry average percentages. Representation is important and we are chuffed to be a part of We Are Moving Stories.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Natalie and I also work as actors. I’ve has just finished shooting on BBC military-drama, ‘Our Girl’ and Natalie is currently in a lead role in theatre play, ‘Glass Roots’ at the Tristan Bates in London’s Covent Garden.
As a filmmaking duo, we have been developing a sitcom pilot and also a feature film based on a British/Sri Lankan story about bereavement and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Interview: February 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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National Anthem
The Nation is overpopulated. Today, Immigrant Tulsi is called upon by Border Control to undertake the Government’s new, radical and highly-classified Citizenship Test or face immediate deportation.
Length: 09.23
Director: Hamza Jeetooa
Producer: Isabel Steuble-Johnson
Writer: Natalie Perera
About the writer, director and producer:
Writer: Natalie Perera is a British actor and writer. She is an MA Acting graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
Director: Hamza Jeetooa is a British actor and filmmaker. He is a Screen Acting MA graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Producer: Isabel Steuble-Johnson is an American film producer. She is based in London, England and is a graduate of Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
Key cast: Natalie Perera, Gillian Daniels, Eileen Walsh, Frankie Haynes, Cael King and Tom Colley
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): All!
Social media handles:
Facebook: @NationalAnthemFilm
Funders: Tongues On Fire / Arts Council England
Made in association with: Tongues On Fire / London Asian Film Festival 2017
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
It’ll be screening at Chicago Feminist Film Festival 2018 on March 7th, Portland Comedy Film Festival 2018 (21st-24th March) and Shorts On Tap 2018 in London later this year.