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Brothers tackle racism with movie 'Boiling Pot' at Catalina Film Festival
Screen shot of boilingpotmovie.com taken Sept. 26, 2014.
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boilingpotmovie.com
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The Catalina Film Festival is underway this weekend. "Boiling Pot," one of this year’s entries, tackles racism by following the lives of four college students. The screenplay weaves together their stories.
Omar Ashmawey directed the film. He and his brother Ibrahim solicited accounts from black student unions around the country.
"We felt like nothing we could come up with would be stronger than what actually happened, and we felt like the strength of the story mainly lies in the fact that it’s a true story," Omar said.
Watch the film's teaser trailer:
The movie reveals varying degrees of racism. In one scene, a noose is hung on a college campus. Students call on administrators to act, but are met with little support. What follows is a racist frat party — then, a lynching.
Co-writer and actor Ibrahim says that last scene was uncomfortable for everyone involved, but "it’s the reality. These things happened and they happened much much worse than what we show."
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Ibrahim says the movie will speak for itself, but he hopes viewers will come with an open mind.
"Boiling Pot" is scheduled to play at the Catalina Film Festival on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Watch a promo about the film below:
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