'Hello Brother': Film based on New Zealand mosque attacks in the works
The deadly terror attacks that shook New Zealand on March 15 is being made into a movie. Moez Masoudoez will be producing 'Hello Brother', the film that will be based on the horrifying day that left 51 dead and dozens injured after a gunman started open firing at mosque-goers in Christchurch, New Zealand.
According to Variety, the film will "follow a family facing death and destruction in Afghanistan who escape with their lives. Their story meshes with that of the recent attacks by a 28-year-old white supremacist on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic center."
"In Christchurch, on March 15, the world witnessed an unspeakable crime against humanity," Masoud, who is a producer, Cambridge scholar and noted public speaker said about the project, "The story that ‘Hello Brother’ will bring to audiences is just one step in the healing process, so that we might all better understand each other, and the root causes of hatred, racism, supremacy, and terrorism.”
The title seems to draw inspiration from the last words a Muslim worshipper spoke to the gunman on March 15 before being gunned down mercilessly in New Zealand's worst-ever mass shooting.
This film is the first project that has been confirmed based on the shootings in New Zealand. It will be produced by Acamedia Pictures. Masoud, along with Rick Castañeda have co-written the film; Mohamed Hefzy and Eric Lagesse are also serving as producers. Masoud also added that the film will "bring people all over the world together to discuss that day and continue a positive dialogue for a future based on genuine mutual understanding."
Just hours before the tragic massacre, the gunman, Brenton Tarrant, 28, had gone public with his manifesto that answers why he carried out the attack. The 73-page long manifesto describes him as "just a regular White man" from "a working class, low-income family … who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people". Tarrant, who has been identified as an Australian national, called the manifesto 'The Great Replacement' and published it online the morning before opening fire at two mosques in Christchurch. Tarrant also live streamed his attack on the Al Noor mosque on Facebook.
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