NZ short film Coffee & Allah will premiere in competition at the world's oldest film festival in August. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival, and for the film's director Sima Urale, premiering the film there is "a really big deal". Coffee & Allah is an Ethiopian Muslim story written by an Indian (Shuchi Kothari), directed by a Samoan (Sima Urale) and produced by a Japanese Canadian (Sarina Pearson) - all of whom are New Zealanders.NZ short film Coffee & Allah will premiere in competition at the world's oldest film festival in August. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival, and for the film's director Sima Urale, premiering the film there is "a really big deal". Coffee & Allah is an Ethiopian Muslim story written by an Indian (Shuchi Kothari), directed by a Samoan (Sima Urale) and produced by a Japanese Canadian (Sarina Pearson) - all of whom are New Zealanders.Coffee & Allah is about a NZ Ethiopian Muslim woman's appetite for coffee, Islam and a good game of badminton.

"In the global climate of Islamophobia and the more recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand, I felt the need to tell a story of a young Muslim woman who yearns to make a human connection in her new homeland," said Kothari. "I hope this film takes a small step in dispelling some myths here and overseas."

Director Sima Urale said, "A world premiere at the Venice Film Festival is a really big deal. It is especially important to me as my first short film O'Tamaiti won the Silver Lion for Best Short Film at Venice in 1996. When they announced my award I was sitting next to Robert Altman who received the Golden Lion award for Lifetime Achievement!

"I have been so eager for the release of Coffee & Allah, and now that it's been selected for Venice, it really has been worth the wait. I am so proud of everyone who worked on it, particularly our wonderful lead Ethiopian Muslim actress who really carries the story, making it a special and memorable experience for us all."

Coffee & Allah was funded by the Short Film Fund of the New Zealand Film Commission.

The aim of the Venice Film Festival is to encourage the awareness and the promotion of all the various aspects of international cinema as art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance.

30/7/07