KEY POINTS:
Coffee & Allah, a New Zealand Film Commission-funded short film, will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month.
The short film is an Ethiopian Muslim story written by an Indian, directed by a Samoan and produced by a Japanese Canadian and Indian -- all of whom are New Zealanders.
Written by Shuchi Kothari, directed by Sima Urale and produced by Sarina Pearson and Kothari, Coffee & Allah is a film about a New Zealand Ethiopian Muslim woman's appetite for coffee, Islam and a good game of badminton.
Ms Kothari said that she was "overjoyed" that Coffee & Allah had been selected for competition at the prestigious film festival.
"In the global climate of Islamophobia and the more recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand, I felt the need to tell a story of a young Muslim woman who yearns to make a human connection in her new homeland," she said.
"I hope this film takes a small step in dispelling some myths here and overseas."
- NZPA
