Hello Brother: Film on Christchurch mosque shooting in the works

Film named after a victim’s last words – was announced at Cannes film festival by Egyptian director Moez Masoud

A film based on the Christchurch mosques massacre in New Zealand that killed 51 people in March this year, is to be directed by Egyptian film-maker and academic Moez Masoud.

Titled Hello Brother - named after a 71-year-old victim's last words - it will follow a family who escapes "death and destruction" in Afghanistan and settles in New Zealand.

Their story meshes with that of the recent attacks by the 28-year-old white supremacist on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic center, reported The Guardian.

A police officer stands guard outside Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 22, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

The shootings at the mosques claimed the lives of 51 worshipers and were partly live-streamed on social media.

Masoud is a producer, Cambridge scholar and noted public speaker. His movie Clash was the opening film at Cannes' Un Certain Regard in 2016.

PM Jacinda Ardern moved swiftly to ban the military-style rifles used in the Christchurch attack. PHOTO: REUTERS

"In Christchurch, on March 15, the world witnessed an unspeakable crime against humanity. The story that Hello Brother will bring to audiences is just one step in the healing process, so that we might all better understand each other, and the root causes of hatred, racism, supremacy and terrorism," Masoud said.

Films covering terror attacks include Paul Greengrass' Netflix film July 22 and Norwegian helmer Erik Poppe's U - July 22, both about neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Behring Breivik's massacre of 77 civilians in 2011.

Hello Brother is said to be the first confirmed project on the Christchurch shootings.

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