ESHANA'S TRIAL

We began principal photography in the summer of 2023, but I really started writing the script at the height of the lockdown in 2020.

The human suffering that occurred during the pandemic was made even
worse by a dramatic escalation in hate crime. I became concerned that the coded messaging of certain opinion leaders was inciting this violence and was compelled to say something about it.

In the aftermath of World War II, Maurice Ogden wrote a poem called
“The Hangman” to warn us against allowing fear to control us.
Concerned that history could be repeating itself, I felt morally obligated to remind the public about his warning.  I also wanted to give them a hero capable of standing up to the Hangman.  

Eshana Patel's character was informed by the real life histories of several women who inspired me with their courage, resilience and kindness.  

Each one of us is afraid of something.  This is not a weakness or a moral failing on our part, but a natural protective reflex.  In order to heal from trauma it is important to restore one's sense of hope and compassion or risk becoming trapped in cycles of fear and retribution.  

In the summer of 2021, a proudly multicultural community near
my home was devastated by the shocking and brutal murder of
a Pakistani family. The perpetrator of the crime, who targeted
the victims because of their appearance, had been radicalized
by the kind of coded messaging that concerned me. I wanted my
story to reflect the suffering of the survivors and honor their
emotional resilience.

No.  I created them to be a loving couple who are open to exploring the complexity an interfaith relationship.  It is an element that I intend to elaborate on in the feature-length adaptation.

We sent out a casting call to disabled actors and corresponded with a few promising candidates.  For this production, we were unable to find a disabled actress who also matched other important character criteria.  We fully intend to revisit this option in the feature-length adaptation, however.