A FEATURE length film about anti-Muslim hatred set in and around Bradford is being released in cinemas this summer.

Conor Ibrahiem, the writer, director and producer of ‘Freesia’, who lives in Bradford, said he was pleased and relieved to have found a distributor for the film, which will be shown at Bradford’s Picturehouse Cinema in the Science and Media Museum at 8.50pm on Monday, August 7.

Following this screening, the 91-minute multi-narrative film will be shown at cinemas across the UK between August 8 and August 24.

Freesia was made by the Keighley-based group Arakan Creative, and one of the lead roles is played by Oakbank School pupil Matthew Thomas.

Also among the film’s stars are Bradford-born actor Aqib Khan, who made his screen debut in the 2010 film West Is West, the sequel to the hit 1999 film East Is East, and Afsaneh Dehrouyeh a London-based actor and writer who is a graduate of the International School of Screen Acting. Freesia tells the story of a racist attack, which leaves a Muslim scholar fighting for his life. The film comprises three linked stories – the victim of the attack, the witness and the perpetrator.

Mr Ibrahiem said: “It wasn’t easy finding a distributor, but we have now found someone who has seen some worth and value in the film. It goes to show that perseverance pays off, and I’m so pleased for the whole team who were responsible for putting the film together.

“We’ve now got to the point where we can get the film onto cinema screens, so I’m looking forward to seeing its message go out as far and wide as possible.”

He said recent violent incidents in the UK, including the fatal terrorist attack on Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park, meant the film’s cinema release was particularly timely.

“Unfortunately sometimes it takes seismic events in order for things to change for the better,” he added.

He emphasised that it was tough to make a film on a budget of only £27,000, when most British feature films are usually made with budgets of a couple of million pounds.

Freesia has been touring the film festival circuit within the UK and beyond. It has picked up 14 official festival selections and three awards, including one for the best first-time film maker. The film won the Award of Merit, from the Accolade Global Film Comp, was a finalist in the Focus International Film Fest for Best Editing, Best Score and Best Trailer and had three nominations in the London International Film Festival for the Best Original Screenplay, Best Score and Best Director categories.

Mr Ibrahiem thanked the organisations that funded Freesia, including the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Freesia is dedicated to Mohammed Saleem, killed in an Islamophobic attack in Birmingham in 2013.