The focus on Ardern is partly what inspired the National Islamic Youth Association of New Zealand to start a petition to halt production of the film. “‘They Are Us’ is not so much about the attack but the response to the attack … how an unprecedented act of hate was overcome by an outpouring of love and support,” Andrew Niccol, the film’s writer and director said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen here during the National Remembrance Service at Christchurch Arena on March 13, 2021, has distanced herself from an upcoming film that dramatizes her response to the 2019 shootings at two Christchurch mosques. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film is described as an “inspirational story about the young leader’s response to the tragic events,” positioning the prime minister as the film’s protagonist. In the film, Rose Byrne is set to star as Ardern, the Hollywood Reporter confirmed last week. The gunman, a white supremacist, pleaded guilty to over 90 charges, including 51 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder, in March 2020. She wrote that she now agrees that the events of the shootings are “too raw for film at this time” and she does “not wish to be involved with a project that is causing such distress.”įifty-one people died in the March 2019 shootings, which took place during Friday Prayer at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center. Producer Philippa Campbell departed the film this month after listening to the “concerns raised over recent days,” she said in a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. Since the film, titled “They Are Us,” was announced last week, critics have denounced it for dramatizing the traumatic events of the shooting, which occurred just over two years ago, and for not centering the experiences of Muslim residents of Christchurch in its retelling. An upcoming film set to focus on New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings recently lost a producer in response to continued criticism from New Zealand Muslims and the prime minister herself.
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