German stars Moritz Bleibtreu (“Call My Agent! — Berlin”) and Kida Khodr Ramadan (“Four Blocks”) are set to star in timely gay immigration drama “Hijiamat,” which Arthood Entertainment is pre-selling in Cannes.
“Hijiamat” is to be directed by Germany-based Iranian director Nadar Seimar. Principal photography will start this summer in Berlin. Seimar directed crime drama “The Witness,” co-written by Jafar Panahi, which won the Orizzonti Extra Audience Award at the Venice Film Festival.
The story of “Hijiamat” centers around a man named Karam, whose secret romantic relationship with a man sends shockwaves through his deeply religious Muslim family and “igniting a battle between faith, identity, and love,” according to the provided synopsis.
“As his brother fights to save him from a dangerous exorcism ritual, long-hidden family secrets rise to the surface, threatening to tear them apart,” the synopsis notes.
“Migration is one of the greatest challenges facing European countries,” said Seimar in his director’s statement. “The immigrant population in Europe is increasing day by day, and undoubtedly, the cultural differences between these immigrants and the host country’s culture will be one of the biggest obstacles to peaceful co-existence. Germany, as one of the European countries that has accepted the most immigrants, is now facing a wide and sometimes conflicting cultural diversity,” he added.
“This film, by portraying the cultural differences of a significant segment of German immigrants (immigrants from Turkey) and examining the human dimensions of some of the cultural characteristics of this segment, tries to propose a practical and humane solution for achieving cultural understanding,” the director went on to point out.
“Hijiamat” is being lead produced by Arthood Films (Germany) as a co-production with Emre Oskay of Sky Films (Turkey). The film’s German distributor is Neue Visionen.
