A still from Orca
Orca - a film inspired from Guinness World Records holder Elham Sadat Asghari premiered in this year’s 9th Ajyal Film Festival.
The record holder who also stars on the film finds her story an emotional resonance glo-bally as it portrays how a divorced woman survived a horrific beating at the hands of her husband, has sought to rediscover herself by finding solace and salvation in the open expanse of water.
The Iranian swimmer is known for the fastest 10 km swim, one arm, in four hours, 58 minutes and 32 second and has set records by swimming for over three hours non-stop wearing handcuffs. Orca is presented by the Doha Film Institute and pro-duced by Katara Studios, and is directed by Sahar Mossayebi.
Addressing a press briefing, Asghari said that her mission has not been to break Guinness World Records but to send out a stronger message to women anywhere in the world: “Do not give up, believe in your dreams and fight for what you want to achieve.”She said that she started swimming at five year old and that gave her the solace and courage to overcome the mundane challenges and evolve as a truly empowered indi-vidual.
She added that she has been planning to break another Guinness World Record in Qatar, but her plans had to be postponed due to the pandemic but will work on it shortly again. Director Mossayebi said the film has closely followed Asghari’s story and haven’t taken much cinematic liberties.
“All the incidents in the film are true; they are real and Elham went through it all. With this film, we are stating facts not criticising or condemning anyone. I believe it is important to narrate these stories as they are so that we can resolve the challenges women faces and overcome them.”She added there are sym-bolic representations of Asghari in the film, which also reflected in the film title which is the name of a fish. “Orcas are like human beings; they are very family-oriented and close to each other as well as emotional and sensitive. So naming the film after it was a natural choice.
”Its producer Luca Bercovici of Katara Studios meanwhile said the film became a reality out of a cold call. “When we read the script, we were spell-bound! It was really strong and its message of inclusivity and women’s rights resonated instantly with us.”Orca will be screened at Vox Cinemas at Doha Festival City tomorrow, November 13 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for Ajyal 2021 can be purchased at www.doha-filminstitute.com/festival
