{"id":10845,"date":"2009-03-16T12:57:06","date_gmt":"2009-03-16T12:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tat.reddaisytrading.co.uk\/index.php\/2009\/03\/16\/reel-honour-killings\/"},"modified":"2009-03-16T12:57:06","modified_gmt":"2009-03-16T12:57:06","slug":"reel-honour-killings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/2009\/03\/16\/reel-honour-killings\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reel\u2019 Honour Killings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Avantika Hari on \u2018Land Gold Women\u2019 – the UK\u2019s first Honour Killing film<\/h3>\n
\"\"THERE is no honour in killing. A sentiment no doubt that is shared by almost every rationale thinking human being in the world.<\/strong> <\/div>\n

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For writer and director Avantika Hari the thinking is the same and it was this that led her to \u2018Land Gold Women\u2019 – the film world\u2019s first foray into the horrific world of \u2018honour killings\u2019.<\/div>\n

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The UK has seen a phenomenal rise in the number of honour killing victims. Killed for bringing shame onto their family, defenceless victims are often murdered at the hands of a loved one. The Asian Today caught up with Avantikha as \u2018Land Gold Women\u2019 premiered in Birmingham last month. <\/div>\n

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Avantika, what was the motivation behind the film? Why \u201chonour killings\u201d?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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I came across an article on an honour killing in a local newspaper when I was doing my MA at the London Film School about 4 years ago. I started to look into the case for several reasons. Firstly the article claimed it was an immigrant problem, specifically an Asian\/Muslim one, which I had trouble believing. Having grown up in India and the Middle East, this was the first time I was hearing of an \u201chonour killing\u201d. Secondly I kept asking myself what it would take a father or uncle to condemn a member of their family to death. These questions ended up taking me on a three year journey of writing and research which finally resulted in the script.<\/div>\n

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How much were you aware of the honour killings before the film came about?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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\u201cHonour killing\u201d is a very British term. I came across the term for the first time when I read the article I mentioned above. I had heard of these crimes before but they usually came under \u201cdomestic abuse\u201d or \u201cmurder\u201d.<\/div>\n

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How did you come up with the name \u2018Land Gold Women\u2019?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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It comes from an Urdu phrase \u201cZan, Zar, Zameen\u201d which loosely translates into \u201cLand Gold Women\u201d. To know more, you\u2019ll have to watch the film!<\/div>\n

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You shot for four weeks in Birmingham, was there a particular reason for choosing this location?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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The film is about how the younger generation challenges the way of the old. I needed a backdrop for this concept and since Birmingham is going through its own transition between old and new, it worked beautifully. The fact the Birmingham is so multicultural and diverse didn\u2019t hurt either!<\/div>\n

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With \u2018honour killings\u2019 I suspect many people have a notion that those who commit these crimes have a mindset deeply rooted in past traditions and customs. But in Land Gold Women, you have the character of Nazir Ali Khan \u2013 a well educated man, a University Professor – who in all intent and purpose would be the last person you would expect to see at the centre of an honour killing. How significant is his character in the context of the film\u2019s message?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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Incredibly significant. Honour killings occur regardless of socio-economic status, education, caste, creed, country of origin or religion. These crimes are not a blue collar phenomenon. It has to do with how a family is perceived in the wider social context in the area which they inhabit.<\/div>\n

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What type of research did you undertake for the film?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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I read a lot of case studies, press clippings, law books on how honour killings are judged in the UK and conducted interviews of victims. I interviewed fathers and uncles for the film as well.<\/div>\n

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\"\"You worked very closely with Ashram Housing Association through out the making of the film. How difficult was it for you personally to hear first hand accounts of women who have escaped honour based crimes?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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It was very difficult. These \u2018women\u2019 are actually young girls, not older than 16. They have lived several lifetimes in the years they\u2019ve been alive. You can\u2019t really describe their stories without using cliches. They\u2019re so brave! Awareness about their conditions could have averted so much grief and death. Hearing them only served to further my resolve in making the film as true to life as possible.<\/div>\n

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What was Ashram\u2019s reaction when you approached them about the film?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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Relief and excitement. Relief that someone was actually attempting to make a realistic film about an issue they\u2019ve dedicated their lives to and excitement at the kind of awareness that a film of this kind can create about honour based violence. They thought that their care users would benefit greatly and hopefully the public would wake up to the types of things that happen in their own neighbourhoods.<\/div>\n

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There is a misconception that honour killings are just an Islamic problem. How<\/strong><\/div>\n

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does the film attempt to dispel the myth?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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I can\u2019t reveal how the film does this, but it does so very strongly. The film drives home the point that Islam in no way condones these killings, nor does any other religion for that matter.<\/div>\n

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What reaction have you had to the film?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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Most people come out of the theatre shocked and very touched. There usually isn\u2019t a dry eye in there. We\u2019ve had people ring us days after they\u2019ve watched it because they can\u2019t seem to forget the film. People everywhere seem to really appreciate the message of the film and the way in which it is communicated.<\/div>\n

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Are there any plans to release the film outside the UK?<\/strong><\/div>\n

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Yes, there are. We hope to release it in Europe, North America and India. Release dates are yet to be finalised.<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

For more information on Land Gold Women log onto http:\/\/www.aricherlens.com<\/a><\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n

\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Avantika Hari on \u2018Land Gold Women\u2019 – the UK\u2019s first Honour Killing film THERE is no honour in killing. A sentiment no doubt that is shared by almost every rationale thinking human being in the world. For writer and director Avantika Hari the thinking is the same and it was this that led her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}