Academy-Award® nominee, Brenda Blethyn, plays Elizabeth who befriends Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyaté). She’s a Christian and he’s a Muslim. An unlikely bond is created when both are looking for their missing children after the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London.

DEARBORN —”London River,” a film directed by three time Academy Award Nominee Rachid Bouchareb, opens locally this week and depicts a story of two individuals from different parts of the world crossing paths as they look for their children during the historic events of the London Bombings that took place in July 2005.

The film follows the main character of Elizabeth, played by Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn (Pride & Prejudice, Secrets and Lies), a Christian woman who comes from a small farming community in Guernsey, England,  as she travels to London looking for her daughter who has gone missing since the aftermath of the bombings. 

As the film captures Elizabeth’s trip to London, it becomes clear that she is fearful and confused when she realizes that her daughter has been living in a metropolitan area filled with predominantly Muslim residents.

Still, director Bouchareb, who was born to Algerian parents in France, feels that her character will be relatable to audiences despite her obvious prejudice in the film.

“This is a very strange world to her,” stated Bouchareb. “She has never come across Muslims and Arabs before. We take her out of her comfort zone and place her in a situation that is very different for her.” 

As she is searching for her daughter, Elizabeth ends up crossing paths with an African Muslim named Ousmane, played by the late Sotigui Kouyaté, who has come from France searching for his son. Despite their cultural differences, both characters realize that they share the same hope in finding their children alive amongst the chaos taking place. 

“Terrorism can affect everyone,” Bouchareb stated. “You can be Muslim, non Muslim…I really hope this film sparks conversation between different groups of people,” he added. 

The London bombings, which resulted in the deaths of 52 people and injured 700 others, was a series of coordinated suicide attacks on the transportation systems that targeted civilians during morning rush hour on July 7, 2005. Three bombs planted aboard the London Underground and a fourth on a double-decker bus exploded during rush-hour traffic. Islamophobia and tensions between different groups of people were at an all time high, as depicted in the film. 

Shot on location in London over a 15 day period, Bouchareb actually spent time getting to know the Muslim community that resided there long before shooting even began. Many people in the community got to participate in the filming by being extras. 

“I need the trust of the community to make this film,” Bouchareb stated. “I made a strong relationship with them by spending time talking to them and making sure it was okay to work in the neighborhood,” he added.  

As a director, Bouchareb is no stranger to putting characters in relatable situations while taking on issues such as race, prejudice and intolerance. His first film, “Baton Rouge,” from 1985, is a story of three poor Parisians who dream about a better life in America.  A later film, 1991’s “Cheb,” tells a tale of a young Algerian expat, educated in Paris, who returns to Algeria to find he is no longer welcomed there. 

Even though this film takes place during the London bombings, Bouchareb wants audiences to know that this not the main purpose of the film.

“My film is less about the bombings themselves and more about the meeting between these two characters that takes place in its wake,” Bouchareb stated. “That’s what is important to me, that these two people who meet are united by the same problem, which is their desire to find their children.”

One truly bittersweet aspect of the film is that it captures the final performance of one of its main actors, Kouyaté, a theater legend who passed away shortly after the film wrapped production. Bouchareb had gotten to know him over the years as this was the second movie they did together. 

“He had something very different,” Bouchareb said about the star of his film. “He’s the type that never needed dialogue to act,” he added. “His physique is very unique, the way he looks, moves and walks…in this movie it comes off as very original.”

“London River” opens at the AMC Star Fairlane in Dearborn starting on January 13.