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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: "In no way involved"
Photo: Mark Mitchell / NZME / XinHua / picture alliance / dpa
Two years after the terrorist attack in Christchurch, the New Zealand-born screenwriter and director Andrew Niccol ("Gattaca", "Anon") wants to film the traumatizing event.
The title of his film: "They Are Us" - something like: They belong to us.
With that sentence, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the relatives at the time.
Now Ardern's office apparently announced that the head of government was in no way involved in the film.
"Jacinda Ardern distances herself from the film," wrote the newspaper "New Zealand Herald".
Muslim association doubts timing
According to a report by the film portal "Hollywood Reporter", Niccol said that he was particularly interested in the reaction to the attack.
"How an unprecedented act of hatred was overcome with a wave of love and support." The script for the film was created with the help of affected members of the mosques.
However, the Muslim Association of the Canterbury Region, where Christchurch is located, questioned the project.
"Although our Prime Minister's recognition for her reaction to the attacks is well deserved, we are questioning the timing and whether a film is appropriate right now," the New Zealand Herald quoted the association spokesman Abdigani Ali as saying.
The story of March 15, 2019 needs to be told, "but we want to ensure that it is done in an appropriate, authentic and sensitive manner."
A total of 51 people were killed in the right-wing attack on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. Prime Minister Ardern in particular had proven herself as a crisis manager at the time. She went up to the Muslims and in a speech said the title of the film "They are us" with a view to the more than 40,000 Muslims in the country - and emphasized that New Zealand was her home. The Social Democrat later had semi-automatic weapons banned. She received international praise for her reaction to the bloodshed.
Andrew Niccol previously wrote the scripts for films such as "The Truman Show" or the end-of-time thriller "In Time - your time is running out".
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to be portrayed in the planned political drama "They Are Us" by the Australian actress Rose Byrne ("Bridal Alert", "Mrs. America").
ime / dpa