Dina Jasim
Dina Jasim says...
I have had the amazing opportunity to work with the talented director and writer Matthew Marshall on two of his films. The first was his short film “Malicious Attack” about bullying where I played the character of Linda Tai. My character struggles with being bullied and dealing with depression because of the bullying she endures. Having the chance to play this complex character of Linda was a wonderful opportunity to explore the social issues of bullying and depression while also embracing my culture and heritage in the character through the film.
The second opportunity was to play a nurse in the hour-long film "Blue Love". A profession that is close to my heart as I have trained to be a nurse so that I can help other people out. I once again was given the opportunity to embrace my culture and play a nurse of Muslim heritage. The film also explored themes of mental illness and depression. Social issues I have seen all around me while training to be a nurse.
Playing these roles and having a chance to live another life, experience different feelings, and get to think differently without being judged through the art of film was a pleasure. As teenagers and young adults, the need for experiencing different life and exploring new things is important and present. Acting usually delivers a message not only to the people watching but also to those who play the roles. Actors live different lives while acting with different characters, talking to different people, go through different feelings, which gives them a new life image and experience. Working with director Matthew Marshall and m & s Marshall has given me the chance to see how bullied people feel and what they can turn into. As well as the effects of how bullying can affect people and send them into depression. How the people around us can affect our mood and feelings. How a spouse like Craig in "Blue Love" saying mean things can and being intimidating to his wife can affect her negatively. We all need to remember that words are a weapon that can kill by slowly hurting others' feelings and emotions. We each need to stand up for ourselves and the people around us we love. Ensuring that we help build each other up and build each other’s self-esteem through positive words and actions.
“Malicious Attack” reflects on an issue we have nowadays with teens and especially high school students. Our goal of the production was to deliver a message to the community, families, bullies and specifically bullied people to help them get out of their silent zone. This film is a valuable tool to open up a discussion about bullying with teenagers, parents and school officials. Although my role in "Blue Love" was small I got to play a role in a profession that I love and we even filmed on Nurse Appreciation day. The film looked at the social issue of mental illness. It looked at the difficult role that nurses have to take care of people and balance their personal lives as well.
I was proud to be a part of both these projects and work with this amazing team that made these films. It is through opportunities like these films done by Matthew, the iFilmGroup and the people that are working with them, that teenagers and young people are able to gain experience and better their lives which will make each of us better adults in the world of tomorrow. I am grateful for these opportunities to be a part of these films and for what it has given me, both in an acting sense but also what I have gain on a personal level as I move forward in my life. I thank iFilmGroup and m & s Marshall Productions for giving me these opportunities.
Dina Jasim
T-DJ-18-06