Chop Chop!

Kino Eyes — The European Film Masters presents
a Screen Academy Scotland / Edinburgh Napier University production

short film | drama, comedy | 12 min. 42 sec. | Scotland | 2024

A Scottish-Pakistani dad’s life spirals into chaos as he battles his orthodox father’s ultimatum to circumcise the grandson.

Starring
Kareem Nasif as Hamza
Mehmood Sultan as Usman
Jashian Soni as Idris

Written by
Amir Masoud Soheili

Directed by
Ievgen Koshyn

Produced by
Andjela Jevtovic

Director of Photography Antonio Pozojevic
Editor Malek Ben Khaled
Music composer Andrea Sordano
Sound Designer Mariia Ivashchenko
Production Designer Urte Rusteikaite
Costume Designer Holly Smith

STILLS

DIRECTOR

Ievgen (Eugene) Koshin is a Ukrainian director and writer currently based in the UK. Born in Donetsk in 1987. He holds film directing degrees from Kino Eyes — the European Film Masters and the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in Moscow. Previously he graduated M.A. in Philology at Donetsk National University, where he also did PhD studies in literary theory.
His short films Star David (2016), We’ll never get lost together again (2020) and Dog Thieves (2024) participated at more than 100 festivals, including FIAPF-accredited Black Nights (Tallinn), Lucas (Frankfurt), Molodist (Kyiv), and won a number of awards. In 2015-2022 he lived in Kyiv and worked as director, screenwriter and 1st AD in cinema and TV. Among his directing credits there are TV series Realna Mistyka (2016) and recently completed Monaco-Ukrainian TV movie Kremlin Code Red.

STATEMENT

"It shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you," declared the creepy Old Testament God, speaking of a piece of skin from a boy's penis that Jews and Muslims are obligated to sacrifice to the Creator of the Universe. When I was a kid, I spent four years studying at a religious Jewish school, and I remember well how young Israeli Hasidim with their tender first beards persuaded thirteen-year-old boys, to get rid of their foreskins, which they considered an unfortunate mistake. They used various arguments. Circumcision is a hygiene requirement, circumcised men suffer less from venereal diseases, they can make love significantly longer than ordinary people. Besides, all Americans do it. They said, many of you will go to Israel, serve in the Army, and your comrades will ridicule you in the shower. However, none of their arguments worked on them. Then the Hasidim offered a bribe: they promised a brand new Playstation to every circumcised boy.

I have always been attracted to bittersweet stories with a pinch of deadpan humor, especially if they deal with themes of identity, religion, and family. Such stories correspond to his past, temperament and ways of perceiving reality. He thinks the world is tragic and hilarious at the same time. The ability to see the funny side of the strange is one of the traits I appreciates in people and films. The themes of identity, the worldview of a person from another exotic culture who is surrounded by the dominant discourse in a particular country, are close to me. As a Russian-speaking half-Jew from Ukraine who had to change his place of residence several times, I fully understand the protagonist’s desire to be included in a new country. But the main connection with the story lies in the very moral dilemma that the protagonist Hamza faces: what should he do, to follow his orthodox father wish or to respect his son’s freedom? The question of freedom and identity is the crucial for me.

BEHIND THE SCENES

This film was developed in the context of the European Joint Master Degree Kino Eyes.
The content of this film does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
Responsibility for the information and views expressed lies entirely with the authors.