Leeds filmmaker on his 'most ambitious short-film yet' about the US travel ban that will be shown at festivals

Leeds-born actor and filmmaker Ashley Tabatabai was inspired to produce a short-film on the travel ban seeing the effect it had on his own extended family.

Titled Hamdardi, the Farsi word loosely translating to compassion and empathy, the film is centred around a bereaved immigration officer who struggles with his role in the system after meeting a young Iranian brother and sister detained during the travel ban.

The 2022 production – which Ashley calls his “most ambitious project yet” – is now due to be shown at the 35th Girona Film Festival.