Slamdance 2020 – Hayat
Hayat documents the lives of Rahma, an Eritrean migrant and her four young children living in Melbourne, Australia. The family begins to celebrate the month of Ramadan with their mother, who encourages her children to maintain a strong sense of family, faith and cultural identity. This inevitably is contrasted with the difficulties and disconnect she faces as a migrant and Muslim.
Interview with Writer/Director Rendah Haj
Watch Hayat on SBS on demand
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! Hayat was my grad film and very personal to me. As a young second-generation Australian with African migrant parents, I've felt there has always been a prevalent but misconstrued sentiment about migrants and refugees and I wanted to address it. This is a true portrait that tells the story of Rahma's family, my own family and that of many other migrant families around the world.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In our current turbulent global climate, Muslim migrants are continuously stigmatised due to the overall negative perceptions held by the 'majority' of Western societies. The journey to migrate and resettle in a foreign place is met with great hardship and hostility, a struggle that further isolates families and individuals within their communities. This is an important portrait often overlooked or not addressed. Our film subtly confronts the realities of these tribulations by observing the somewhat mundane but intimate moments of a simplistic, loving family.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I felt it was important to share a very intimate story that brings to light a universal sense of love, compassion and tradition that is empowered by strength in family, faith and cultural identity, despite hardships. I find that in addressing a story like this, it is usually only the lack of shared experiences that create a disconnect and a sense of 'otherness' between individuals/communities. In this case immigration and refugee status, language, Islamic faith and the journey/process of all that. These are not experiences shared by the 'majority', they are foreign and heavily misrepresented issues. A lot of the other elements are there, it's just finding a way to convey those personal and universal links visually and emotionally to connect people on the common ground of humanity.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Initially, I wanted this story through the eyes of the eldest daughter Hayat, but naturally, we found her mother Rahma at the forefront and developed a story that would be driven by her. Our intention was very clear early on so It was mainly trying to explore and link the most fundamental sub-themes. As I didn't want narration, my DOP Gabriel Francis and I just worked to a strong understanding of the tone and types of shots to capture/focus on very early. Although it was a very intentional film, as an observational piece and working with children who all have their own thing going on, it was hard to know exactly what would happen on a daily basis when shooting. We were constantly re-writing scenes and the structure as we were filming. In this way, it definitely evolved as a whole, specifically structurally, but the message we ultimately wanted to convey stayed the same.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Incredible - it's been overwhelming at times! Lots of dialogue, questions from those trying to understand more and tap into this world. Such a diverse range of people have been able to heavily relate to our film, each in their different ways. Like mothers of different races, elderly Caucasian couples, young adults my age.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Surprised, in the way that you would hope people would be interested and relate to the story and its characters in some ways, but still not expect it... But definitely, of course, challenged me also, as with any work I do would. Viewers are watching this film objectively and emotionally, pinpointing out a lot of the 'why's and 'how's'. Like the personal relationship, the children have with their faith, how it affects them growing up in the specific environment depicted. The question of the father's absence is also constantly relayed to me, why he isn't captured and how the family/ a single mother copes without. It's hard to encapsulate all of life in a short film, but it is also a test I guess to see how best, creatively and narratively, you can keep your audience engaged and answer the fundamental questions to a social issue you are trying to bring light to.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Global engagement. Although our film is based on a story in Australia, it is more than a national issue limited to one place, it is heavily prevalent around the world. This platform is specifically important to us as it connects and supports stories made by women and POC.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Most of the above haha. We are still in our festival tour so getting it out as much as possible around the world and having supportive platforms to share our film for when it's public is key for us. Our global response has been great so far but we would love to see more of it and expand our reach. Producers as well, to help develop this short further!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
One that humanises migrants and refugees and isn't quick to judge. We are trying to connect, rather than educate, by depicting a slice of family life, in a way that is universally relevant, and have people relate through basic common grounds.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Part of Rahma's struggle is not that she does not want to integrate into the broader society, but there are so many obstacles such as language, identity and cultural barriers that she must overcome. This journey is isolating and lonely most times, and for many individuals/families coming from the trauma of destabilising or war-torn countries, the clash between two different worlds is complicated and arduous. This is what we need to look at as a whole and question before creating a picture of what society deems migrants and refugees supposedly to 'look' like.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are actually working to develop this further into a feature that has a little shift in character focus. There has been a new addition to the family also which is exciting!
I am also working on a doc feature in Canada that investigates the case of Soleiman Faqiri, an Afghani-Canadian with Schizophrenia who was murdered in 2016 while under government care in an Ontario prison. The case was re-opened recently and I have been working with members of his family and community to seek justice, and bring to light deep-rooted issues regarding mental health.
Interview: February 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
Hayat
Hayat documents the lives of Rahma, an Eritrean migrant and her four young children living in Melbourne, Australia. The family begins to celebrate the month of Ramadan with their mother, who encourages her children to maintain a strong sense of family, faith and cultural identity. This inevitably is contrasted with the difficulties and disconnect she faces as a migrant and Muslim.
Length: 14:12
Director: Rendah Haj
Producer: Maudie Osborne
Writer: Rendah Haj, Maudie Osborne
About the writer, director and producer:
RENDAH HAJ is an African-Australian filmmaker and director based in Melbourne. She has an extensive history curating social impact and youth mindful projects. After recently graduating from film production at RMIT, she now focuses her work specifically on documentaries that intimately & ethically explore social issues and matters relating to human rights.
MAUDIE OSBORNE is a Melbourne based visual artist, filmmaker and film producer. Her works have been featured in galleries across Melbourne as well as publications around the world including Curated by Girls, Accidental Discharge and Ramona Magazine. She is a recent graduate of Monash University having contained a BA in Film and Screen Studies and a minor in Art History.
Key cast: Rahma, Hayat, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Sara
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, producers
Facebook: Hayat
Twitter: @sovacutie
Instagram: @hayatfilm219, @sovacutie
Hashtags used: #hayatfilm
Other: Vimeo
Funders: Ready Go fund
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? TBA