Hotel Mumbai

Anthony Maras’s first feature reached the 2008 siege of the Taj Mahal Palace through the documentary Surviving Mumbai and then through its unedited interview footage. Maras and his team spoke to more than 40 people, in person and remotely, across India, Australia and the United States, and stayed over a month at the hotel. Zahra, played by Nazanin Boniadi, is a composite rather than one survivor. Among the sources Maras names is a Muslim woman who drew compassion and strength from her faith. In the film, what keeps the character alive is the prayer she recites. Shooting began at the South Australian Film Corporation studios in Adelaide and moved to India in early 2017; the film screened in Toronto in September 2018. The Weinstein Company held the American rights, and once it fell away distribution passed to Bleecker Street. At the Australian academy’s AACTA ceremony in 2019 the film was up in 13 categories and won one, editing, shared by Peter McNulty and the director himself. A good fit if you will follow the siege through the working shift of the hotel staff instead of waiting for a rescuer. Not for anyone who cannot take sustained close range gunfire aimed at civilians; New Zealand suspended screenings for about two weeks after the Christchurch attack in 2019.