Synopsis
Status is an intriguing character study of an Iranian asylum seeker, Emir Hosseini. Confronted not only by the alien culture of Los Angeles but also the pressures of securing asylum, Emir struggles to open the INS envelope holding the decision to his legal status in the United States. While roaming around the city he meets a Nigerian taxi driver, anti Iraq war protestors and a Mexican waitress at a diner – all of them at various stages of the immigration cycle. Will any of their stories inspire Emir to open the envelope and embrace his fate?
Written and directed by Student Academy Award winner MAK HOSSAIN, Status is infused with a unique visual & editing style that unmasks the story of a subculture rarely represented truthfully in the popular media. This film brings together the creative team of HOSSAIN, National Geographic published photographer and director of photography RASHED ZAMAN and Rising Shores film Producer and editor-in-chief of the Ekush (largest Bangladeshi bi-weekly newspaper in the States), JAHAN HASSAN.
Inspired by Italian neorealism (Bicycle Thieves, Rome Open City, Miracle in Milan) and Indian melodrama (Lagaan, Devdas) Status blurs the lines between hyperrealism and fantasy. Using only non-professional actors the 12-minute film represents the mental arc of the main character by starting off almost like a documentary only to slowly dissipate into a dreamlike state. This change is further underscored by the transformation of the visual and editing style from hand-held, jump cuts to carefully framed, continuity editing. Weaving the bridge between realism and melodrama, Status is a rich, beautiful and dizzying ode to the struggles of minority immigrant groups in the post 9/11 world.