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Shoot on Sight release date confirmed

13/ 8/2008

Producers of the controversial thriller ‘Shoot on Sight’ have confirmed the release date of this much anticipated film.

The first to deal with the shoot on sight policy issued after suicide bombings on UK soil, the film which was originally scheduled for release on 11 July,  will now be released across the UK on 22 August 2008, out of respect to the 7/7 victim’s families.

Shoot on Sight is the first film to depict the climate of fear in post-7/7 London after the bombings that irrevocably changed the city.

Said producer Aron Govil: "Although not directly about the events of 7/7, the film deals with incredibly sensitive issues and we felt that 11July was simply too close to the third anniversary of the attacks. Equally, this film raises important questions about the climate of fear post 7/7 and the direct impact of that terrible day.

"While we are mindful that the families are still grieving, it is important to look at the climate within which Londoners now live and work and have been forced to deal with on an ongoing basis. Everywhere, people of Asian appearance have borne the brunt of increased stopping and searching.

"Three years on, and at a time when Assistant Comissioner of the Met police, Tarique Ghaffur’s situation is at the forefront of the London agenda, I think Londoners will find the film very insightful.

"The entire project has been funded by me and distributed independently as I strongly felt it was a topic that needed to be addressed. It does raise some uncomfortable racial issues, but once UK audiences see the film, they will, I hope, see that the film portrays a balanced viewpoint and leaves the audience to decide which side they wish to be on", added Mr Govil.

The controversial new political thriller is based on the London Police’s order to shoot suspected terrorists following the July 7 London bombings and the film’s star cast includes Brian Cox (Adaptation, Braveheart, The Bourne Supremacy), Greta Scacchi (The Player, Presumed Innocent, Shattered), Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Om Puri (East is East, Charlie Wilson’s War), Ralph Ineson (The Office) and Sadie Frost (Dracula, The Krays, Love, Honour and Obey).

This drama is the first cinema release to tackle the issue of suicide bombings on UK soil and the country’s ongoing threat from home-grown terrorists linked to fundamentalist Islam.

Filmed entirely on location in London, Shoot on Sight is directed by Jagmohan Mundhra. The acclaimed director, an American-citizen born in India, was living in London at the time of the 7/7 terrorist attacks.

Mundhra was inspired by his experiences in the immediate aftermath of the London bombings.

He found that life and the way he was perceived by Londoners had completely changed and was struck by how even the most basic of everyday routines had been irrevocably altered.

"Having lived and worked in London for many years I became very aware of and affected by how peoples’ attitudes were changing towards me," he said.

Taxi drivers would not stop for me in the days following 7/7 and I could completely understand why." explains Mundhra. "The fact that I had always found London to be an extremely culturally tolerant city made this change in atmosphere all the more shocking."

Synopsis

When an innocent Muslim is killed by the London Police force in the wake of 7/7, Tariq Ali (Shah), a successful Muslim police officer, is asked to head up the internal investigation to hunt-down suspected suicide-bombers. The investigation is clouded by allegations of racism and religious profiling in the Police force, as well as the ongoing threat of terrorism in the capital.

At the same time, Lahore-born Tariq - a British citizen married to an English woman with two children – has his loyalties questioned by colleagues in the force, despite his long service to Scotland Yard, as well as fellow Muslims, finding his inquiry hampered from all sides.

Things become difficult for Tariq enforcing him to display courage as he becomes torn between his family and professional duties. Instantaneous decisions have to be made, bringing into question his priorities as both a senior police officer and a Muslim. Tariq soon realises that sometimes the right decision is the hardest one to make.

- Shoot on Sight will be released in the UK nationwide 22 August 2008. For full cinema listings, to view the trailer and further information please visit www.shootonsightthemovie.com