Cannes Festival showing for 7/7 bombing film

A director is taking his film about the aftermath of the July 7 London bombings to the Cannes film festival.

'Shoot on Sight' centres around an innocent Muslim who is killed by police in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

The character has been inspired by Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead by officers after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

The movie has been directed by Jag Mudhra, a US Indian-born filmmaker who was working in London at the time of the attacks.

In the film, Tariq Ali, a successful Muslim police officer, is asked to head up an internal investigation to hunt down the suspected suicide bombers.

But the investigation is clouded by allegations of racism and religious profiling at Scotland Yard.

The film is being taken to Cannes in May for market screenings to attract buyers around the world, although it is not in the festival programme.

'Shoot on Sight' features 'The Bourne Supremacy' actor Brian Cox, 'East is East'star Om Puri, Greta Scacchi, Sadie Frost, and Indian star Naseeruddin Shah.

The director talked to Scotland Yard’s most senior Muslim officer, Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, when making the film, but says his characters are entirely fictional.

Mundhra said of being in London during the bombings: “It became almost impossible for me to stop a taxi. There was a psychology of fear. I’ve stayed in London many times and never felt that before.

“People looked at you with suspicion and I could understand why.

“I started to think of the possible shooting of an innocent Muslim man at a Tube station. In reality we know this happened to a South American.

“I’m sure there will be some people that find the idea of this film uncomfortable but part of a filmmaker’s job is to put a mirror to and reflect what is going on.”