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Turning a Quote Into Short Film: Youth Experience
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By Sami
Haque
Title:
11th
Hour
Producer:
Sami Haque & Hasan Shaikh
Type:
comedy/drama, 24mins
Director:
Ross Heran
Language:
English
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April 3, 2005
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Sami
Haque and a group of Muslims have made a film that has been making big waves in
his community. Haque received close to 1,800 downloads a month and shares the
experience here. The subject of the film is death and changing your ways before
it's too late. This topic is very big among the youth, who, according to Sami,
are a market not touched by media.
“A
man that decides to change on the 12th hour dies on the 11th.” This simple
quote was first introduced to me during my high school years. I found it
intriguing because like many at that age, I felt I had many promised years ahead
of me, not realizing that death could hit at anytime.
During
college I wanted to expand on this idea and had great hopes of turning this
message into a short film. I asked Hasan Shaikh, an English major from a
neighboring university, to co-write due to his experience and knowledge with
film. Being new to the screenwriting or even film world, we found ourselves
hitting many stops during our writing processes. We both knew what we wanted out
of this film, but we knew that comedy would really bring in the audience’s
attention. We decided to follow a format that would mix both serious learning
moments and comedy in almost a rollercoaster effect.
Once
the script was written, Hasan and I set out to find someone to direct and shoot
the film, since we both had no prior experience in shooting. After much
interviewing, Ross Heran, a junior film student, was chosen for the job. Ross
brought a great deal of advice to make the film run smoothly and look good. We
then quickly started to audition actors for the roles. What was initially
planned to take a week, ended up taking much longer due to a lack of interest in
many applicants. While this process went on, I collectively searched for places
to shoot. Many phone calls were made and e-mails sent out to find free
locations.
Once
shooting began, it was one road block after another. There were times that
shooting would go late into the night, scenes needed to be improved; there was
even a time when we lost three hours of footage due to misplacing of the tapes.
As we began to almost give up hope in ourselves, we found strength within
ourselves to push this project out. When it came to editing, shooting almost
seemed like a breeze. Much like a jigsaw puzzle, we began to piece together the
film and have it ready to be presented. We finished the day of our deadline,
which turned out to be an entertainment night held by our Muslim Student
Association (MSA).
The
response was electrifying. The entire audience of 300 was on their feet as the
credits rolled by. Since then many have viewed and given comments on the film,
ranging from “it was a great comedy” to “it really put my life into
perspective.” In sha’ Allah (Allah willing), we hope to be making
more films in the future too, so we can reach out and give back to the Islamic
community.
* Sami
Haque holds Bachelors degrees in Finance and in MIS both from DePaul
University, Chicago, America. Currently, Sami works as a Financial Analyst and
plans to study his Masters in Finance. You may contact Sami at Sami@ashfilms.com
**
Hasan Shaikh holds a Bachelors degree in English & Literature from
University of Illinios at Chicago, America. Currently, Hasan is pursuing a
degree of Law from Thomas M. Cooley in Michigan, America. You may contact Hasan
at Hasan@ashfilms.com.
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