German-Egyptian director Samir Nasr's thought-provoking film "Seeds of Doubt", which won the Best Script award at the recently concluded World Film Festival of Bangkok, is a timely reminder of just how much the world has changed since the events of 9/11.

The story of a model cross-cultural family - Maya (Silke Bodenbender), a German art director, her Algerian scientist husband Tariq Slimani (Mehdi Nebbou) and their son, Karim - the film shows how their world falls apart as a series of small incidents combine to portray the unfortunate Tariq as a terrorist.

Aware of the stereotypes Arab people have acquired through Western films, Nasr was determined to present Tariq as a credible character, a man with both good and bad points.

"An American professor once said 95 per cent of Arab characters in Western films are unsympathetic, sly, uneasy and annoying. But we can't take it to the opposite extreme by making Tariq an angel. He's an ordinary guy whose life is affected by the situation," explains Nasr, who was also involved in the script editing.

"When I was approached by the German producer, I was intrigued by stories that show the consequences politics have on normal people. My film reflects the hysteria that is rampant in Germany at the moment."

That same producer was also after a film with some cutting-edge espionage or terrorist scenes, but Nasr chose instead to focus on the couple's love life, their workplace and their son.

"I believe that I can reach people in a direct and simple way. By simple, I don't mean naïve. I want to show that this can really happen."

Nasr speaks with quiet confidence, as his debut feature is based on a real-life incident in Hamburg, where the German authorities approached a German bookseller married to a Syrian man.

The film opens with Tarik and Maya getting ready for a dinner party with one of Maya's colleagues. The happy family days come to an end when two German policemen enter Maya's office and interrogate her about her husband. He was filmed at the wedding of one of the 9/11 hijackers, so he could be a "sleeper" - a hidden terrorist.

Maya doesn't believe this accusation, but she feel more uncomfortable around Tariq, especially as she discovers he is hiding things from her. Matters get even more complicated when the Ebola virus is discovered in his laboratory.

Nasr admits that casting the characters was hard work, since he needed an Arab actor who could speak German without a strong accent.

He auditioned several actresses for the part of Maya, finally settling on Bodenbender who had played a few minor roles on stage and screen but was a virtual unknown.

"I saw the chemistry between them immediately. It was essential because without it, the story would be flat. They are both new faces and that makes it easier for them to be accepted as the people next door."

Nasr says he has observed more problems between German wives and their Arab Muslim husbands since 9/11, even for those who are Westernised.

"It's as if religion didn't play such a big role before."

He builds on that with Tariq and Maya - her cultural ignorance of his background, his insouciant sarcasm when her boss makes a anti-Islam remark - revealing how little attention they have paid to each other because they are busy with their work and child-rearing.

"When the doubts start, she feels vulnerable. She starts to think maybe it's better to step back from all things that relate to the Muslim faith."

The film is now travelling around the world, picking up prizes at film festivals.

In the West, Nasr says, the audiences see "Seeds of Doubt" through the eyes of Maya, while Muslim and Arab viewers relate to Tariq.

"When the film was screened in Egypt, the audience was happy to see that the movie was made and funded by German people," he says.

"But it's really about moving away from stereotypes and not seeing German-Arab relationships as a cliché anymore."

Parinyaporn Pajee

The Nation