New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

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BruceDLimber
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New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby BruceDLimber » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:42 am

Greetings, all! :-)

I just ran across this announcement, and am echoing it here for your interest and possible edification. Enjoy!
Story of Bahá’í girl’s martyrdom to be shot in Malta

The true story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, the courageous young Baha’i teacher who was martyred in 1983 along with 10 other Baha’i women in the Iranian city of Shiraz, a particularly resounding echo of the painful reality of human rights violations in today’s Iran, is due to start filming in October/November in Malta.

The film, entitled Mona’s Dream, is a $10 million project that entered pre-production last May with the financial backing of Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions film company.

Canadian Baha'i musician and composer Jack Lenz was asked to collaborate with Mel Gibson a few years ago on the musical score of the film The Passion of the Christ. Lenz spent more than a year travelling around the world and researching ancient instruments, cultures and their music to come up with an idea of what kind of music would be historically accurate and appropriate for Mel Gibson’s magnum opus. It was widely expected that he would be named as composer for the movie but later on, Mel Gibson and his associates ended up choosing John Debney for that role. Nevertheless, Lenz continued to work on the project and ended up contributing to many of the original titles and songs in the movie.

Late last year, Mel Gibson and the other producers of The Passion of the Christ met with Jack Lenz in Los Angeles. They wanted to communicate their appreciation for the hard work he had put into the project and asked him how they could return the favour. Jack Lenz replied that it had always been a lifelong dream of his to make an original motion picture about the martyrdom of Mona, a 17-year-old Iranian Baha’i girl.

He then proceeded to tell Mel Gibson and his associates about Mona’s story; how she had been taken away by Iranian authorities and interrogated; how she had been told that she would be, along with nine other women, summarily executed; how she had asked to be hung last so that she would be able to pray for the other women; and how she had kissed the noose and placed it around her own neck, meeting her death with serenity and strength, never wavering in her faith. Lenz also showed them a letter that Mona had written herself...

An international cast as well as high profile Iranian actors includes:

• Keisha Castle-Hughes (Oscar-nominated actress from Whale Rider, also in Star Wars Episode III),
• Shohreh Aghdashloo (Oscar-nominated actress from House of Sand and Fog, also in 24, Lake House and X-Men: The Last Stand).
• Cas Anvar (Canadian-Iranian actor from Shattered Glass) as Khalid, Chief Interrogator,
• Nazanin Afshin-Jam (Singer/Songwriter debuting as an actress, International Human Rights Activist, and Miss World Canada / Miss World runner-up) as Tahirih

who have all committed to the project.

Source:

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=72933

Regards,

Bruce

BritishBahai
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Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby BritishBahai » Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:05 pm

wow :D cant wait to see the film when its finally out
"I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love"

FloresDeLaVida
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Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:11 am

Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby FloresDeLaVida » Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:20 pm

In addition Mona's story is one of a love story of the soul's longing.
=D> =D> =D>

Justice
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:53 pm

Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby Justice » Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:18 pm

Hi,

Here is the link to the main movie site.

Have a look, http://www.monasdream.com/

Love,

Justice

AdibM
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Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby AdibM » Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:47 pm

I heard a rumor that Gibson actually dissociated himself from the Mona's Dream project when he learned that Mona's religious beliefs were at the core of her courage. Can anyone confirm this?
"To be a Bahá'í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." -- `Abdu'l-Bahá

Vaughan
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Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby Vaughan » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:14 am

I think it is worthwhile considering if it is helpful to talk about rumors, public figures and the Baha'i Faith.

AdibM
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Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby AdibM » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:22 pm

I'm just concerned about the publicity that this film will get.
"To be a Bahá'í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." -- `Abdu'l-Bahá

MontanaDon
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Re: New film "Mona's Story" to be shot in Malta

Postby MontanaDon » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:04 pm

AdibM wrote:I heard a rumor that Gibson actually dissociated himself from the Mona's Dream project when he learned that Mona's religious beliefs were at the core of her courage. Can anyone confirm this?


We don't really know. There is circumstantial evidence that supports such an idea. Gibson was part of a conference call with Mona's mother in London. She was quite open about the Baha'i elements in the story. During the following week (?) Gibson's production company representatives declined to become involved. It should be emphasized that there was never any deal made for Gibson to underwrite the project.

The recent spate of reports connecting Gibson to the project came as a result of an article last summer in Payyam, a Persian newspaper that is not sympathetic to the current regime. It was obvious cribbed from earlier reports in various media. A Gibson fan site picked up the story a couple days later and put it on their web site. It was pulled without explanation the next day. It's interesting that I have been unable to find any mention of a connection btwn Gibson and the project in any of the movie-news sites.

Don C
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Understood properly, all man's problems are essentially spiritual in nature.


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