Hollyshorts / San Francisco Indie Shorts 2019 – Salam
A female Lyft driver navigates the night shift in New York City while waiting to hear life-or-death news from her family in Syria.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Claire Fowler
Watch Salam on Kanopy and Vimeo on demand
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to make a film that countered the current administration’s negative rhetoric about immigrants and Muslims in particular. I wrote the script in 2016 during the presidential election, and I felt like I had to make something that in some tiny way contributed some positivity into the world because it all felt so hopeless.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you’re a member of the audience I guess you’re already watching! It’s only 13 mins and hopefully, it’ll make you feel good :)
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
All of my films seem to be about being an outsider in some way... but then making a connection. Both the women in Salam experience this despite coming from totally different backgrounds. I think in this way the personal becomes universal.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Shore Scripts had been on my radar for some time before I successfully applied for the inaugural Short Film grant in 2016 with my script Salam (originally titled Lift). The previous year I had been lucky enough to win the Feature Screenplay competition with my script Little House. I’m a writer-director and it’s tough to find opportunities to finance films, so when I saw the email announcing the Short Film Fund I knew I was going to go all out to get it. I think it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I applied with quite a skimpy idea about a female Lift driver in New York City who just so happens to be Muslim– it was basically just a kernel of the script it later became (a script I am now proud of). But because I had already directed I was able to pitch what this idea was going to become, how it was going to look and feel, and to show past examples of my work to prove that I would actually be able to deliver a film of quality. When I applied to the competition I had been back living in the UK for visa reasons, but when I won I was once more in New York and so I wanted to make my film there.
The script also developed once we were on set with Hana and Kal because they are from the Middle-East (Lebanon/Palestine and Syria) and had their own valuable contributions to make. I love that kind of collaboration.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Great! We premiered at Tribeca in 2018 and have played at nearly 100 festivals so far. We can also be found on Amazon and Kanopy.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m always looking for more directing opportunities.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’d love to find a producer for my feature.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’m happy with what it has done so far- putting a positive portrayal of American Muslims out into the world.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I have no idea sorry. Maybe you guys can think of one.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working on several feature projects.
Interview: August 2019
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
Salam
A female Lyft driver navigates the night shift in New York City while waiting to hear life-or-death news from her family in Syria.
Length: 13:38
Director: Claire Fowler
Producer: Claire Fowler & Sophia Cannata-Bowman
Writer: Claire Fowler
About the writer, director and producer:
CLAIRE FOWLER is a Welsh writer and director. After making several award-winning documentaries, she attended Columbia University’s M.F.A. program in film on a Fulbright scholarship and, later, the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women. Her short film, Noodles, was a Vimeo Staff Pick and can currently be seen on Nowness. Her latest short, Salam, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was one of ten films nominated for best short at the London Film Festival. She recently directed all eight episodes of the BBC Wales/S4C digital series Respectable Women before heading to Morocco as a shadow director, following Alex Graves (Game of Thrones) on episode 5 of the final season of Homeland. She then went on to shadow director Tina Mabry on episode 206 of Pose as part of the Ryan Murphy HALF Initiative. Her feature screenplays have won awards in multiple competitions, including Shore Scripts, Nantucket Tony Cox Screenplay Competition and Script Goldmine. She is currently developing several projects that combine her interests in social justice and fiction storytelling.
SOPHIA CANNATA-BOWMAN is an NYU grad who has a passion for theater and film.
Key cast: Hana Chamoun, Leslie Bibb
Facebook: Salam
Instagram: @flashfluff
Hashtags used: #salammovie #salamfilm
Website: www.clairefowler.com
Made in association with: Shore scripts, Film Agency Wales
Funders: Shore Scripts, Film Agency Wales
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Hollyshorts Film Festival Wed Aug 14th 5pm Chinese Theaters, LA; Madrid International Film Festival, Spain dates TBA; San Francisco Indie Shorts Sep 13-15 2019