Queens, NY: Queens based filmmaker Razid Season’s latest film ‘Elijah’ has won the 2nd place audience choice award for best short film. The film was screened at the Harkins theater Scottsdale 101 in Phoenix. It was part of the official selection and had multiple showings in the Asian American Pacific Islander directed group portion of the festival. The festival also facilitated a Q&A session with Season after each screening.
Razid stated, “It was a very interactive event, and each show was packed. I never would have expected that Phoenicians would purchase a ticket for $17 and come to see this film.”
The film explores the lives of a South Asian immigrant family in New York city as they struggle to realize the American dream. Against this backdrop is the family's private turmoil, as their teenager comes to grips with their gender identity and insistence on living authentically. Razid also said that it was a very good experience, and he appreciates that people warmly welcomed the film. The festival has also assigned him to a panel discussion to share his directorial experience with other distinguished festival participants.
The film starred Ajaz Alam, Mithila Gazi, and Debjani Banerjee as its leading characters.
Ed moran, a senior journalist, author and film critic from New York said “Elijah,” is an incisive vignette that explores what happens to a Muslim family when its teenaged daughter reveals her secret wish to change gender. This is often a source of tension and soul-searching, but more so when the family is comprised of recent immigrants from Bangladesh to New York trying to negotiate their own transition to an unfamiliar culture. This frank and ultimately heartwarming narrative is centered on the relationship between the determined Elijah and their father, a hard-working cab driver who quickly realizes he is being summoned to an unknown destination. The film is notable for its honesty and forthrightness involving real people who are not at all stereotyped. Season's sensitive treatment puts a human face on a situation that is often gravely misunderstood. As Elijah the person yearns to breathe free, "Elijah" the film offers a new twist on the immigrant experience in America.
A local audience member who is also an Arizona based film composer, Christopher Caliendo said, "Elijah is a shared human experience in many families, in every community. I truly had a cinematic and impactful viewing experience.”
This film Elijah is made possible with funds from the statewide community regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the governor and the New York state legislature, and administered by Queens Council on the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council and the Huntington Arts Council. The film is presented by Queens-based non-profit Image Maker Films.
