What Will People Say
Description
Living with her Pakistani family in Oslo, smart and popular Aisha feels pretty assimilated into Norwegian culture and mores – until her father catches her making out with her boyfriend, and her life is upended completely. After she’s shipped off to an aunt in Pakistan in order to mend her overly Western ways, this semi-autobiographical film carefully (and sometimes harrowingly) details how Aisha (a dynamic debut performance by Maria Mozhdah) struggles to be able to live her life on her own terms.
“Attractively photographed by Nadim Carlsen, What Will People Say makes the most of the contrast between the grey, wintry scenes in Norway and the sunlight and exoticism of Pakistan. Nisha is a prisoner in a country that is totally alien to her but there are good and bad sides to her ordeal from the love of family, the bustling life of the local markets, and the simple pleasures of flying kites from the rooftops to the vicious acts of corrupt policemen and an uncle who burns her passport before her eyes.” – Allan Hunter, Screen Daily
After getting her start as an actor and penning a short, Trofast (2004), in which she also starred, Iram Haq made her directing debut with Little Miss Eyeflap (2009). She made her feature debut with I Am Yours, Norway’s 2013 Foreign Language Oscar submission. The Audience Award winner at 2017 AFI Fest, What Will People Say is partially inspired by Haq’s own experience. “It took a lot of years to develop and to be ready to tell the story. I very often find inspiration from myself, and I like to talk about feelings of shame and about what it does to us – loneliness, identity, belonging, love, and not feeling loved and feeling rejected. All these emotions are so important for me.” (The National)
Film Details
Language Norwegian, Urdu
Year 2017
Runtime 106
Country Norway/Germany/Sweden
Director Iram Haq
Producer Maria Ekerhovd
Writer Iram Haq
Editor Janus Billeskov Jansen, Anne Østerud
Cinematographer Nadim Carlsen
Music Martin Pedersen, Lorenz Dangel
Cast Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Rohit Saraf