The Cast Of ‘Miles From Nowhere’ Is Redefining Authentic Kiwi-Muslim Representation On Screen

Muslims make up 25 per cent of the world’s population but are severely under-represented on screen. Hyper-local show Miles From Nowhere aims to change that narrative, and as Dan Ahwa finds out from its ensemble cast, they’re here to stay.

There is a pivotal scene in the newly released six-part local comedy-drama Miles From Nowhere that puts the spotlight on the eternal conflict between first-generation migrants and a younger generation brought up in New Zealand. An argument in a mosque escalates between an elder and a passionate young activist — both conveying the tension that can often arise when traditional ideas collide with the realities of being young in a mainly Western society.

It’s one of many conversations that play out in the new series, which ambitiously covers everything from a tender yet fractured love story to family values, surveillance, Islamophobia, media type-casting, brown masculinity and, of course, the all too confronting microaggression people of colour deal with every day in New Zealand.

While other shows such as Raised by Refugees and Kid Sister explore similar themes of the migrant experience, Miles From Nowhere puts a microscope on the realities of the Muslim-New Zealand diaspora, supported not only by an ensemble cast but also a crew behind the scenes who know these stories well.

The show — which had a preview at the Red Sea International Film Festival last year — is helmed by two leading storytellers whose work has consistently put the spotlight on the Muslim experience in Aoteraoa — award-winning journalist, poet and author of How to Be a Bad Muslim and Other Essays, Mohamed Hassan; and director Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, who is one of our most accomplished film-makers and screenwriters.

Ghazleh’s popular digital series This Is Us played an integral part in placing a confronting mirror on New Zealand society after the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, when former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared “they are us”, a well-meaning but problematic example of “othering” minority cultures.

For many POC (person of colour) first-generation migrants, there’s a common thread of implanting their hopes and dreams into their children for a better future. For descendants of this, it can be a precarious balancing act of two worlds — to be brown in mostly white spaces requires you to be even more exceptional, a cultural fatigue that can be detrimental to mental health.

“For a younger generation, there’s a conflict with those who left their countries for various reasons, and who have experienced the hardships of trying to settle down in a new country,” explains one of the show’s key cast members and active thespian Mustaq Missouri, who plays the endearing uncle Faizan in the series.

Mustaq — whose acting credits include the Emmy-winning film Rūrangi and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — plays an important figure on screen and off.

For our cover shoot this week, a sense of respect is given to both Mustaq and Sherin Darwish, kaumatua of the series who are the paternal figures among a cast of bright young things.

Congregating in an Auckland studio with photographer Matt Hurley, the chemistry is palpable; familial ties from the show’s script have united the cast off-duty. Joining them are the show’s lead protagonist, Arlo Green, who plays Said, a troubled Kiwi-Muslim songwriter who forms a questionable relationship with the Security Intelligence Service; Roxie Mohebbi, who plays Marwa, Said’s ex-fiancee and level-headed civil servant; and Bala Murali Shingade, who plays Said’s best friend Darwish.

“The show highlights that feeling as a young person feeling judged and alienated from their own community,” says Arlo, who honed his other passions of singing and playing the guitar for the role. “From an Islamic point of view, judgment is one of the worst things you can do — to your community and to yourself.”

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The recipient of best actor at the 2020 Auckland Theatre Awards, Arlo’s acting credits include Rūrangi, M3gan, and the forthcoming 10-episode British drama series Nautilus. He is vocal about how a role like Said has helped him connect to his faith and reminded him of why a communal way of working in “minority” cultures is integral to the ongoing progress of true representation on screen.

“The word minority is so crazy because it’s a global majority,” he says during the shoot. “Because the way media is so white, you think that there are minority groups and that you belong in them, but it’s not.”

“The show is also really important in saying that there is no one way to be Muslim,” says Arlo. “Muslims should feel like they have a place; for hijabis and non-hijabis to feel like they have a place without judgment. The community has a lot of judgment internally as well as externally, but I don’t see how judgment has any room in Islam.”

Much of this generational divide is tenderly explored in the series, with a lightness and hope represented by the show’s core younger characters. What helps push this through is the fractured relationship between Said and Marwa, ex-lovers still respectful of each other, their families and their communities. “It’s a complicated love story to me because I feel like it’s the two characters are very halal,” Roxie says laughing.

It’s a universal one too.

“It’s such a beautiful way of telling a love story because it expands beyond the two lovers,” she says. “The love is not just between two people, it’s between their families too.”

Familial ties and love within migrant cultures are also heartwarmingly displayed through Sherin’s performance as the matriarch of the show. Playing Said’s mother Shadia, the first-time actor offers a maternal presence. “I feel [the show is] a very reflective image of my life and other people’s lives, especially immigrants,” she notes. “I believe it will touch the audience’s hearts as well.”

It’s the work of their elders that continues to help shape Arlo and Roxie’s identities and their responsibilities to their communities too. “One of the main things I feel as I learn more in my career is how many people did so much groundwork before me to allow for me to be in the position I am in,” says Roxie.

“It set a standard of how I want to work and who I want to be as an actor. I realised that I desperately want to direct, produce and be in these positions to allow opportunities like that for other people. That’s where the strength is.”

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Roxie’s powerful presence on screen as the pragmatic Marwa is also a win for the visibility of young Muslim women in Aotearoa, showcasing a range of emotions that deal with some confronting daily microaggressions — including a scene where a typical Kiwi larrikin is pulling her hijab in a bar.

“I didn’t want to play her too hard, like that strong female character trope,” Roxie reveals.

“Yet there are so many actual physical moments where she’s yelling and trying to be heard and seen. I see a lot of myself in her. We all crossed over into our characters, even into the real-life fatigue of having to be strong all the time.”

“But even though I feel like I’ve been battling sometimes, I’m reminded of people like Sherin who, although she has never acted, her presence in New Zealand as a Middle Eastern woman, and as a mother representing our culture this way, is already taking 10 steps forward for us to feel seen. That’s progress.”

Along with Sherin and Roxie’s performances, other standout female performances include Hanah Tayeb (who plays Said’s younger sister Soraya) and a hilarious turn from Sneha Shetty as an overbearing security intelligence service agent. “No matter the masculinity explored in the show, it is kind of dissolved around these women, and as a woman in the series, your voice has to be the loudest to be heard,” says Roxie.

Representation is also manifested in the physicality of the characters. Costume designer Briar Vivian and assistant costume designer Kama Aliska Scretching worked closely with the cast to conceive a thoughtful wardrobe that is true to reality.

“What a very rare opportunity, and career treat where I felt at play riffing ideas with the Ghaz and the cast” says Briar. “Collaboration was highly necessary. It felt important to listen, rather than projecting too many ideas for the characters on this show. It was humbling to be tasked with costumes. My temptation was to find out and follow “the rules”, but I was led to understand that everyone has a unique relationship and reasoning with any kind of traditional attire. This relationship might change throughout one’s life, for so many reasons. The looks came about through simply looking around me, asking questions, and exploring ideas with cast and crew. "

The show’s strength also relies on Mohammad’s own experiences growing up surrounded by the male figures in his life — fathers, uncles, cousins, brothers and friends.

Arab-Australian actor Sami Afuni, who plays passionate community activist Ahmad and Marwa’s brother, is both bullish and playful; while Arlo’s endearing portrayal of Said highlights the very real and specific mental trauma children of migration live with. Another vital male figure is the role of Maaka Phatu, who adds another layer of conversation as a Māori-Muslim member of the community. Their presence is symbolic of how brown masculinity sits incongruously with Western constructs of masculinity, and the role men play in families and their communities.

“I grew up with a lot of toxic masculinity,” says Arlo, whose previous work explores similar themes, “and I thought that was the only way to be. It took other people to teach me better ways. It’s the case of the ‘lion with a thorn in its paw’. All these men are just hurting and they’re going around hurting everybody else, which is not okay.”

Much like Arlo, Roxie’s body of work has helped shape her take on Marwa. It ranges from Shortland Street to One Lane Bridge, to forthcoming feature films The Moon Is Upside Down, written and directed by Loren Taylor, and Head South, alongside acclaimed actor Marton Csokas and fellow Viva cover star Benee.

She has also recently wrapped shooting in Australia for an unannounced project exploring similar themes. “It was quite a heavy role, so coming home to celebrate the launch of Miles From Nowhere and doing this shoot has filled my cup and given me the strength to go back to Australia to continue working, to keep pushing.”

Roxie’s acting career also segues into fashion — she is one of the country’s top models, appearing on the cover of Viva and Viva’s quarterly magazine in 2022, the latter paying tribute to the glamour of Iranian women who paved the way, including singers and actors Giti Pashaei and Googoosh. Roxie’s collaborative input for that shoot extends to the way she works on a film set too.

“You did play coach though, for all of us,” Arlo says to Roxie. The pair’s friendship on set is a result of having worked with each other over the years. “We’d come up to you and ask, ‘What do you think of this? ‘You grounded a lot of us and pushed us. People might say, ‘What a cool performance’, but the reality is, a lot of that performance has been built from some very hard conversations and emotional work behind the scenes.”

Each of the actors has respectively accumulated a diverse range of work that explores the human experience, and jobs close to home like this play a vital part in reframing the narrative — “stories by us for us” is a common thread that weaves together the impressive collective efforts of the cast and crew who worked on the show.

“I can only think of one other project that I’ve done in my career which is probably equally if not more important than this,” says Mustaq. “It’s the first time that we know of that a show is genuinely highlighting the Muslim diaspora in New Zealand, and I think there’s such a need for people to understand each other.”

Roxie agrees. “Muslims, Middle Eastern people, people of colour have been dehumanised for so long. So this is the core of it — to show our humanity, to show these characters in a range of emotions who all go through periods of euphoria and moments of pain. I hope the main takeaway is that people feel connected to these characters.”

With a second season yet to be announced, the show’s timely release is a mirror to a society still needing to face up to its prejudices.

Like any decent dark comedy, the humour is a much-needed tonic to those conflicts. It not only provides a foil to the difficult themes, but it helps explain so much about the specifics of unapologetic brown joy — the type of joy that’s necessary for survival.

“Resilience in the face of trauma makes you funny,” Roxie says with a knowing smile. A reminder that we all have more in common than we think.

Miles From Nowhere is available to watch in New Zealand on Neon.

Photography / Matt Hurley. Fashion director / Dan Ahwa. Hair, makeup and grooming / Naeema Bhikoo.

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