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Between Us and the River
TYPE: Narrative Feature
GENRE: Drama
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
Two college students in love must reconcile their relationship when they find themselves on opposing sides of a war in which they wanted no part.
SYNOPSIS
As the Iraq war rages on overseas, an Iraqi American dancer develops an intimate relationship with a young Mexican American veteran. She struggles with her identity, family, and place in society, pursuing connection amidst chaos, until she discovers a tragic incident in the war had already tied them together.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I came from a country where war happened in our backyard. I grew up in a country where war happened in a land far away. For my co-writer, Nadia, it was both. Nadia and I come from different countries, different generations, different ideologies, yet from the same world- one that exists on the peripheries of societies, one that only immigrants and children of immigrants know- the world of the in-between. Nadia wrote a memoir about her life in an attempt to put a human face to the story of Iraq, and I wanted to write a film about how those in power affect the powerless in the most intimate aspects of American everyday life. How often are our lives critically thrown about due to the decisions of a few protected individuals at the top? How do the societal structures and systems that they create define the most intimate parts of our identity? Does a separation of public and private ever really exist?
Since it is our protagonist Noor who navigates these questions, the entirety of the film takes place from her physical vantage point, moving these abstract reflections into a concrete framework and urgent context of a young girl’s life. The camera work is pivotal in placing us in her mind and body: when she feels claustrophobic so do we, when she feels like a lost speck in infinite space, so do we. What draws Noor’s attention is what draws the attention of the camera. The hot dog vendor, the wall street bankers, the bathroom attendant. Her hair, Oscar’s skin, their bodies. We see the world through her eyes and feel it through her hands: whether it’s darkness creeping in through the depths of the Hudson river and the black ink spreading across her notebook or the brief moments of light shining through, between the crack of a dorm room door or the flashing spark of a passing subway tunnel. Although the style of the film is one of heightened realism- such visual metaphors and symbols function as microscopes into Noor’s psyche.
Beyond telling the story of the second Iraq war from this coming of age perspective, we aim to explore a series of questions that ask how we relate to one another, especially when we are different. How do we experience ourselves and others as individuals versus as part of a whole? How are our judgements and perceptions shaped by the push and pull between feeling and thought? Do we possess the capability for true compassion? In our current world, the answer to this question is becoming increasingly obscured and the consequences increasingly severe.
KEY CREW
Nika Fehmiu - Director/ Co-writer
Nika Fehmiu is a filmmaker from New York City, currently residing in Los Angeles. She is a first generation American whose parents immigrated from former Yugoslavia during the war in the 90s. In 2020, she completed her independent short film Look At Me, supported by the Gotham Fiscal Sponsorship Program. The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival in competition. It went on to have a successful festival run, secure distribution with Eroin Films, and screen across the globe. Having spent the majority of her life going back and forth between the US and the Balkans, she has worked international jobs as a still photographer, DIT, and assistant editor, on projects ranging from award winning political dramas to documentary shorts at Human Rights Watch. She received her BA in International Politics from Middlebury College, where she produced, wrote, and directed multiple short films.
Nadia Al Sultani - Co-writer
Nadia Al Sultani, born in Baghdad Iraq, has lived and worked in some of the world’s most volatile places —Iraq, Afghanistan, and near the Syrian border in Gaziantep, Turkey. Nadia immigrated to the US at age 10 and grew up in upstate New York. With an MA in International Economics, Nadia began her career in global banking on Wall Street. After more than a decade working in NYC, she moved into a series of high level public sector positions, including her work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense. She spent several years commuting between NYC and the International Zone (most often famously called ‘the Green Zone’) in Baghdad to help reform the Iraqi economy. Her memoir “Baghdad Stories: An Iraqi-American Memoir” recounts her highly charged professional and personal return journeys to her native land.
Hannah Vicente-Kliot - Producer
Hannah Vicente-Kliot is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist based in NYC. Hannah was a staff producer at HBO for four years, working on “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” During her tenure, Hannah’s work was honored with three Emmy Awards and garnered seven Emmy nominations. Hannah led a diverse array of HBO productions both domestically and internationally- reporting on athletes at war in Ukraine, investigating a national Bitcoin movement catalyzed by a group of surfers in El Salvador, and unearthing a sex abuse crisis in youth cheerleading. Hannah produced the short narrative film “Look at Me,” which premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020. Prior to HBO, Hannah worked as a member of the Investigative Unit at CNBC. Hannah is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she reported extensively on potentially wrongful convictions as a selected member of the Medill Justice Project.
Milos Jacimovic - Cinematographer
Milos Jacimovic is a cinematographer based in NYC. His feature films have screened at Venice, Locarno, Sarajevo, Rotterdam, and Palm Springs among many others. The Serbian Association of Cinematographers presented him with the award for best cinematography for his work on Ivan Ikic’s feature "Oasis", winner of Europa Cinema Labels at the 77th Venice Film Festival in 2020. Screen Daily noted: "While the script is sparse, the filmmaking fills in the gaps. Expressive cinematography from Milos Jacimovic tightly frames the trio through doorways and windows, lingers long on mundane moments." "Oasis" was the Serbian nominee for Best Foreign Language Film in the 2022 Academy Awards. His partnership with Ikic originated on the latter's debut drama "Barbarians", screened at 2014 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The film subsequently toured more than 30 international film festivals and was critically acclaimed by The Guardian, Vice UK, Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Milos' recent work includes Kapac & Mardesic's "The Uncle", which won Special Mention at the 2022 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Jacimovic's first feature, "Tilva Rosh", was a coming-of-age drama directed by Nikola Lezaic, which premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2010 and won the Grand Prix at Sarajevo Film Festival. Tilva Rosh was nominated for the European Film Academy First Feature Award. Milos studied cinematography at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Serbia and currently sits as a mentor at Berlinale Talent Campus in Sarajevo. Some of his notable commercial work includes Reebok, Adidas, Ford, Nike, MTV, Google, Chase, and Tidal.
Helen Morales - Production Designer
Helen Morales is a production designer based in LA and NYC, whose work in narrative features and shorts has premiered and won awards at SXSW, Tribeca, Nashville, and Seattle Film Festivals. In music, she has worked productions with renowned artists Billie Eilish, Kanye West, James Blake, and Father John Misty, among many others. While her commercial work has included clients such as Samsung, the NFL, Adidas, GQ, and Sony. Her most recent narrative work includes Little Death (Sundance 2024), Story Ave (SXSW 2023 Narrative Feature Special Jury Award Winner, distributed by Kino Lorber), Bumble Bees (Tribeca 2022), But I’m Letting Go (distributed by Amazon Prime), and Aspirational Slut (SXSW 2022 Audience Award Winner).
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