Now as a new streaming platform, Apple has it made its first buy at Sundance with the coming-of-age film Hala, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is written and directed by Minhal Baig. The film competed in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the festival.
The plot focuses on a high-school aged daughter to Pakistani immigrants, played by Geraldine Viswanathan. Along with her growth as an individual, she comes to explore new feelings she develops, especially for the classmate she shares similar passions with, who is played by The Nice Guys’s Jack Kilmer. These newfound emotions come into conflict with her Muslim culture and her father’s wishes for an arranged marriage. The rest of the cast includes Purbi Joshi, Azad Khan, Anna Chlumsky, and Gabriel Luna.
Hala is an expanded project based on the original short film Baig had made in 2016. Baig has also directed and written other shorts such as Pretext and After Sophie.
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