They Are Us on hold

The director of They Are Us says he hopes the film will be made, but production has been put on hold. In a statement, Andrew Niccol said the leaked script was not final, and he was ‘‘saddened by the pain caused to families of the victims’’. However, he said he still wanted the controversial project to go ahead. Development of the film was on hold, until more thorough consultation with the Muslim community in Christchurch could be done, he said. ‘‘Our hope for this film, convinced by producer Ayman Jamal, which will take years to complete, is that it will honour the survivors, and the lives lost,’’ he said. A publicist for Niccol declined Stuff’s request to interview him. This was the first public statement the Kiwi director has made about this project. He had repeatedly declined requests for comment, since he went public with the project in June. American production house Film Nation started discussions with the New Zealand Film Commission in May 2019, to make this film.