Witness

Witness is an outstanding piece of drama. This thoughtfully constructed story revolves around a Muslim community, specifically an imam called Mustafa who must face some social complexities when a trans man acts as the titular witness to a Nikah – the Muslim wedding ceremony. Things get quite distressing when we’re confronted with the prejudice and transphobia present in religion. This can be identified in the protagonist of the film. The short understandably focuses in on the conflict between staunch tradition and modern realities, but it’s at its most interesting when we get an insight into the tragedy of a trans person's spiritual identity resulting in discriminatory action; the injustice of a system, meant as a haven of the soul, making an innocent individual feel like an outsider.

Even putting aside this movie’s political importance (although why would you), what the viewer is party to here is utterly immaculate on a visual and auditory level. This might be the best-looking, most flawlessly lit short film release I’ve seen all year. It’s an unbelievable achievement for director of photography Nausheen Dadabhoy who manages to craft the light so delicately as to both provide an impression of realism, and have the image be almost overwhelmingly pristine. Such an immaculate balance in the imagery is almost matched by the clarity and immersion present in the audio. The sound and its crisp quality, in a sense, feels too much – as if the emotional damage of words said pierce the audience equally. But we also have a rather lovely score to the soundtrack, matching, through its subtle melodious sensibility, the gentle yet fluctuating moments on show.

All the formal elements discussed are enhanced by a terrifically devoted cast of performers. The emotions on show are as raw as the subject-matter; and yet, we never veer into over-playing melodrama. To do so would fundamentally disrupt the reality and significance of the story being told. Thus, the director and actors work together to craft performers of an incredibly grounded, three-dimensional nature. One would go so far as to say that these are very much award-worthy pieces of acting. The film, which has been selected for this year’s Raindance film festival, will surely have great success within a multitude of departments when it comes to critical appreciation.

Beautifully observed from beginning to end, Witness is a deep and prescient work. This critic wholeheartedly recommends the film due to its elevated craft and moving aspirations. The film’s ending ultimately gives us a great amount to ponder on. With an ambiguous ending such as Witness builds to, it’s up to the audience to consider whether good or ill will be done; and what exactly, if we were placed in the exact same position, we would do. I’m sure we’d all like to think that we would be breaking down all these damaging barriers of traditional thought and prejudicial proceedings, but there’s something more grounded, and more sober in the fact that it’s not as simple as all that. Hopefully this man can make a positive change, but what the ending evokes is that that’s just the first step in a long and arduous battle with the powers that be.