The Grab

9 mins. HD. 2019.

A black comedy about the training of an jihadi bride.
Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019 “this six strong selection draws together EIFF’s pick of the most exciting cinematic voices emerging from the UK today.”  Also awarded “Best Concept Film” at Catfish Shorts! Short Film Festival 2020.

Synopsis
Alja falls in love online with Ebb a self-described jihadi, and longs to visit him. But he insists on setting a series of escalating challenges to prove she’s tough enough. When events take a dark turn, it’s Alja who questions Ebb’s commitment.

Production notes
Writing The Grab was a collaborative process, with Deva writing the first draft with the help of Shaniaz Hama Ali, the actress who plays Alja, and Jon Conway but it never quite worked so Mandy Lee, writer, came on board and solidified all the ideas into a viable screenplay.

The main shoot was crewed with Annemarie Lean Vercoe, cinematographer, Iqbal Elyas, production assistant, and Deva who operated sound as well as directing. The cast were Shaniaz Hama Ali, as Alja, Amrou Al-Kadhi as Ebb and Adam Lannon as The Business Man.

Deva continued to shoot the interior and exterior scenes, operating camera and sound at the same time while directing the cast of Shaniaz Hama Ali, Adam Lannon, Marcus Hutton, Nicola Harrison, and Melissa Jean Woodside.

Much later, John Minton came on board and edited The Grab using Premiere Pro and Katie O’Mahoney, producer, helped secure the colour grade with Matthew Osborne at The Mill in LA. The music was composed by Yazz Ahmed and the sound mixed by Steve Single.

Cast
Shaniaz Hama Ali – Alja
Amrou Al-Kadhi – Ebb
Adam Lannon – Business Man
Marcus Hutton – Helpful Lukas
Melissa Jean Woodside – Melissa

Crew
Deva Palmier – Director
Mandy Lee – Writer
Katie O’Mahoney – Producer
Annemarie Lean Vercoe and Deva Palmier – Cinematographer
John Minton – Editor
Yazz Ahmed – Music
Deva Palmier – Sound Recordist
Steve Single – Sound Re-recording Mixer
Matt Osborne and Thomas Mangham – Colour Grading for The Mill
Liza Kerlin and Colin Oaten – Colour Grading Producer for The Mill
Emily Jones – Casting Director
Iqbal Elyas – Production Assistant