Jasmine (Mahaela Park) and Noori (Tara Raani) in “11:11.”
Mahnoor Euceph wrote and directed the short (15:27 mins.) “11:11”that will screen at the HollyShorts Festival from August 7th to the 17th in Hollywood, California. [Among those listed as Executive Producer for the film was Cate Blanchett].
The short follows a 9th grade Pakistani Muslim girl Noori as she moves to Palos Verdes, California in 2009 and attempts to assimilate into the culture of her new homeland and her new school (Palos Verdes High School). Noori didn’t even realize that she had brown skin until 3rd grade, but that fact is driven home to her in America by the locals. Like every teenager, Noor wants to fit in and she wants to be popular, as she was back in Pakistan. That universal urge is what is ably dissected in this 15 minute short.
HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUES
The short opens with Noori describing the various cliques that exist in the school. She has categorized them as The Culture Vultures, who are obsessed with all things Bollywood; the Future Overreaching Billionaires, or FOBs; the Halal Harami, who spend their time sinning and praying for forgiveness; the Coconuts, who hate brown food and love indie rock; and the Race Traitors, who spend their time making fun of their own kind, only speaking of their race to diss those like themselves.
Jeff Benesh (Caiden Falstrup-finny).
As we learn during an Art History class—Jeff Benesh is the BMOC, who only dates white girls and apparently doesn’t even seem to know that Noori is alive (as kids say in the U.S.). But Noori has had a crush on Jeff. Noori’s best friend Jasmine (Mahaela Park) shares with Noori that Jeff likes someone in their Art History class. Jasmine prints out a note asking Jeff if that person in the class that he likes is Noori. When Jeff reads the note, he gives it back to Noori, saying, “You’re not my type.”
Cold, heartless, but very real.
“FREAKY FRIDAY” SPIN-OFF
Noori and her blonde version (Taylor Geare) as the “change” after the wish takes place.
At this point, the film becomes derivative of “Freaky Friday” (and the soon-to-be released “Freakier Friday”) where, by wishing she looked more like Jeff’s type, Noori actually finds that her skin has lightened and her hair has turned blonde. The actress portraying Jeff’s blonde type is played by Taylor Geare, who gives her name as “Rooni,” when asked her name at Jeff’s house pool party. Noori’s reaction upon realizing in the rest room mirror that she is several shades whiter, “I wanted him to like me for me. I didn’t want to get Michael Jackson-ed!”
BRIGHT SPOT #1
The script provided some good moments. Well done! I enjoyed this line: “I’m not really afraid of trouble, because then it would give me something to write about on my college apps.”
BRIGHT SPOT #2
Enjoyed the music, most of it played by a group called Tetherball. The songs “Buoy” and “Twisting in the Sky” were written by Bernie Bridges, Julian Bridges, Miller Kitsner and Irfan Zaidi and the Supervising Sound Editor and Recording Mixer was Nathan Ruyle. Lara Hall’s costume designs (especially the outfits at the pool party), along with the production design (Sara Millan), Editing (Julian Bridges) and Cinematography (Director of Photography Lee Muller) were all excellent.
The 2009 time frame is pinned down well by the reference to Michael Jackson as the biggest star on the planet, a mention of Barack Obama as Noori’s idol, and by the fact that the online activity is away from MySpace (and onto Facebook.) The current events references depicting what is going on in 2009 are right on target, as are the outfits and the music. Only the “Freaky Friday” switcheroo was derivative, but it served the plot’s look at prejudice towards those with darker skins in America and does so with well-crafted lines like the heartthrob’s dismissal of Noori as having “a big nose and small titties.”
Jeff and Noori at Jeff Benesh’s pool party.
All of the teenagers depicted came off as real and genuine, and Noori’s rejection of Jeff “You know what, Jeff, you’re not my type” and her ultimate rejection of becoming a “Race Traitor” is a great message for this 15 minute film.
The film was chosen by a committee that included Greta Gerwig and Lilly Wachowski — in partnership with Netflix, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and Dirty Films. Mahnoor Euceph is an award-winning writer and director from Los Angeles She holds a BA in Design/Media Arts from UCLA and an MFA in Film & TV Production from USC .
CONCLUSION
A top-notch short that takes a look at prejudice in modern-day high school America and combines that serious topic with the difficulties any student in a new school experiences trying to “fit in” and be considered cool. Mahnoor Euceph is a promising up-and-coming Pakistani filmmaker.
