Bombing victims outraged over third anniversary premiere date for 7/7 terror attack movie about innocent Muslim man being shot dead

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Families of those killed by the 7 July bombings today expressed shock at the "insensitive" timing of the premiere and said they knew nothing of what is the first movie based on the attacks.

Shoot On Sight is to be premiered in London on the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

With a cast including Brian Cox and Greta Scacchi, the film is a fictionalised account of the killing of an innocent young Muslim man by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of the outrage.

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Tube terror: A scene from Shoot On Sight, a fictionalised account of the killing of an innocent young Muslim by the Metropolitan Police

The real incident killed 52 people as well as the four bombers. Innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police in a later incident.

But Lisa Cassidy, 28, of Finsbury Park, whose 22-year-old brother Ciaran died at Russell Square, condemned the project.

"Are we going to get to see this beforehand? We want to know exactly what this film is about and what they are portraying. I think it is completely insensitive to release it on July 7 - they are just trying to make money and raise publicity."

Richard Deer, 31, lost his Polish girlfriend Karolina Gluck, 29, at Russell Square. He said: "I think it would have been nice if out of respect they had arranged a way the families could see it first. For some of the families it is still very, very raw.

"I think for this kind of film that is going to be on the world stage it is very insensitive not to tell us and to show it on July 7. We are all at different stages and dealing with it in a different ways."

Jean Charles de Menezes. A spokesman said: 'I think it is good that they are exploring the role of the police'

A spokesman for the Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign, Justice4Jean said: "I think it is good that they are exploring the role of the police."

However Jag Mundhra, the Indian Hindu director who was living in London at the time, said the aim of the film was not to offend.

The story is told from the perspective of a Muslim police officer - played by Naseeruddin Shah - with a white wife and children who are well integrated into British society until "something happens and there is this ripple effect in communities that were otherwise co-existing."

It stemmed from Mundhra's personal experience of the consequences of the 7 July attacks. "I couldn't stop a taxi after the bombings because of the way I looked," he said.

"Then I started noticing that on television suddenly Scotland Yard was represented by a Muslim police officer [Tarique Ghaffur]. I knew it was because the way they wanted to tell the Muslim community 'look, we have a Muslim police officer.'

"Then I could see that if I sat on an Underground train everyone looked at you and moved away. I could feel the fear."

The aim of the film was to address these issues. "I wanted to see the point of view of a shooter who had to pull the trigger and shot the wrong guy. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

"I knew that it might create some controversy but I thought the issue was important enough to not fear controversy. Everyone says the wounds are still raw. But facing up to a situation is more cathartic than hiding from it."

Mundhra said he spoke to Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur before making the film and also won the cooperation of the Regent's Park mosque where some of the filming took place. The bombings themselves are not represented as the film is based on the aftermath.

The film is being released in the UK on 11 July with the premiere benefiting Flame, a charity for the education of women in Asian communities, and in America and India. It is being sold at this week's Cannes Film Festival, where there has been strong interest from the Middle East and Africa.

 

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