The Lady of Heaven

2021 historical British film

The Lady of Heaven

Film poster

Directed by| Eli King
Written by| Yasser Al-Habib
Produced by|

* Matthew Kuipers
* Richard Rionda Del Castro

Starring|

* Denise Black
* Ray Fearon
* Mark Anthony Brighton
* Chris Jarman
* Gabriel Cartade

Cinematography| Mike Brewster
Edited by| Steve Mercer
Music by| Craig Pruess (score by)

Production
companies

Enlightened Kingdom
Hannibal Media

Release date

* 10 December 2021 (2021-12-10)

Running time

| 141 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Budget| $15 million[1][2]
Box office| $74,441[3]
(as of June 15, 2022)

The Lady of Heaven is a 2021 British epic historical drama film written by the Twelver Shia cleric Yasser Al-Habib, the spiritual leader of The Mahdi Servants Union and founder of Fadak TV.[4] Produced by Enlightened Kingdom, the film bills itself as the first movie on the life of the historical figure Fatimah during and after the era of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is written from a Shia perspective of Fatimah's story, which differs substantially from that of the Sunni Muslim majority.[5] The film implies that there are similarities between the actions of revered early-Islamic figures with those of the Islamic State group in Iraq.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Cast
* 3 Production
* 4 Marketing
* 5 Release
* 6 Reception
* 6.1 Pre-release reception
* 6.2 Post-release reception
* 6.3 Protests and bans
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## Plot[edit]

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|

Laith, an Iraqi child in the middle of a war-torn country at the hands of ISIS, after losing his mother, finds himself a new home with an elderly woman who tells him the story of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, from the Shia perspective, explaining how she was the first victim of terrorism.[7][5]

## Cast[edit]

* Denise Black as Bibi
* Gabriel Cartade as Laith
* Ray Fearon as Abu Bakr
* Mark Anthony Brighton as Umar
* Chris Jarman as Bilal
* Albane Courtois as Fatima Lanrawi
* Oscar Garland as Raed
* Andrew Harrison as Qunfudh
* Sami Karim as Khalid
* Christopher Sciueref
* Lucas Bond as Jamal
* Levan Saginashvili as Talhah ibn Abi Talhah al-‘Abdari
* Dimitri Andreas as Salman the Persian
* David Katsarava as Abu Sufyan ibn Harb

## Production[edit]

The Lady of Heaven was directed by an unidentified crew that goes by the pseudonym Eli King.[8] Filming began in August 2019 and continued through October of the same year in the cities of Tbilisi, Rustavi, and Vaziani.[9] The majority of filming took place in Vaziani and John Stephenson was brought on as a creative consultant.[10] Further filming also took place in London the following months. It took the production team over 2 months to build the sets for Mecca and Medina as imagined in 622 AD.[citation needed] Actors Denise Black, Ray Fearon, and Lucas Bond were brought on to act in the film and Chris Jarman was confirmed as portraying Bilal ibn Rabah, one of the companions of Muhammad.[11] In March 2021, LA based sales agent Hannibal Media acquired worldwide rights to the film.[12]

Per writer Al-Habib, in order to respect aniconism in Islam,[13] all holy figures of Twelver Shi'ism were portrayed by light and cinematic effects as opposed to being portrayed by an actor or single individual;[14] notably, figures deemed holy in Sunni Islam but not Shi'ism were portrayed by darker skinned actors.[15] In an interview with Deadline Hollywood the producers discussed how they tackled the very challenging aspect of depicting a Muslim holy personality.[16]

## Marketing[edit]

Marketing for the film has promoted The Lady of Heaven as the first ever cinematic production on the life of Fatima, during and after the era of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A trailer for the film was released in December 2020.[17] An attempt was made by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block the trailer on social media platforms.[18]

Writer Al-Habib has voiced his support for the film, stating that:

> "This film conveys a message of love and peace. It is a call to a better mindset when dealing with challenges. I am certain that should humanity follow in the steps of The Lady; peace, justice, and equality will prevail and triumph. I pray for this to happen."[14]

Additionally, Malik Shlibak, one of the executive producers on the film responded by stating:

> "One of the most important things to mention is that we put an extremely large amount of time and effort into making sure that the film is historically correct, so everything is backed up by historical texts. Then you come to the interpretation of those texts where the healthy conversations and differences that people can have."[19]

The Mahdi Servants Union says:

> We are very confident that those who strive to obscure the truth about the injustices and crimes that Zahra, peace be upon her, was subjected to in order to sympathize with the dissenters and take into account their feelings will only achieve the disgrace of this world and the hereafter. In a humiliating historical scene![20]

## Release[edit]

The Lady of Heaven was set for a 2020 release, but like many productions, it was delayed due to uncertainties in the industry related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 25th of October 2021, it was announced that the movie will be premiering in the United States on December 10, 2021.[21]

The film was released on 3 June 2022 in cinemas in the UK.[22] Protests by Muslim groups against Cineworld cinemas resulted in the film being dropped by the chain.[23]

## Reception[edit]

Due to some people's response to its sectarian nature, as well as the inherent taboo of depicting Islamic figures in film, there is much criticism of the film's existence.

### Pre-release reception[edit]

In the Marché du Film at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the film's producers were interviewed by Deadline Hollywood's co-Editor-in-Chief, Mike Fleming Jr, in a panel discussion on International Storytelling in Modern Cinema. The producers spoke of bringing Lady Fatima's story to life and the challenges the team faced with depicting religious history.[24] The film received an award for Best Visual Effects at the iSuccess International Awards gala in an event hosted by Superfilm Studios in co-production with Forbes France.[25][26]

Despite this early praise from non-Muslim critics, in the Muslim world, the film has continued to draw criticism from both Twelver Shia and Sunni scholars, organisations and institutions, including the Pakistani Government and scholars from Al-Azhar.[27]

Fars News Agency has questioned the intent of the film, noting that "A number of renowned Islamic scholars have criticized the film for poor background research and inflammatory content."[28]

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also questioned the purpose of the film on his Twitter account.[29]

The Iranian government banned the film from being released in the country, calling it aimed at dividing Muslims.[30]

In 2021, four Shia scholars condemned the film, Ayatollah Sheikh Naser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Sheikh Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Ayatollah Sheikh Ja'far Sobhani and Ayatollah Sheikh Hossein Noori Hamedani.[31]

Additionally that year, seven Shia scholars in the UK condemned the film, criticising it for exacerbating sectarian tensions between Muslims in the UK.[32]

The statement of UK shia scholars

5Pillars, an Islamic Media organisation from the UK, disregarded the film as "two hours plus of the most extreme Shia sectarian narratives about how the caliphate was supposedly “usurped” from the Ahl ul Bayt. And most Muslims will find the invective against three of the most beloved companions [Abu Bakr As-Sadiq, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and Uthman Ibn Affan] of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) shocking and disgusting". They further noted that it is a "deeply racist film with all the main negative characters being portrayed by black actors", despite historically all coming from the Quraysh tribe in Arabia, thus being ethnically identical to the protagonists portrayed by lighter skinned actors and actresses.[33]

Additional religious criticism has centred around the portrayal of Aisha, one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. Yasser Al-Habib, the writer of the film, is known for his polemics against Sunni Islam, the majority denomination within the religion, and he has made a number of controversial statements about important Islamic historical figures, for example angering Sunni Muslims in September 2010 by calling Aisha “an enemy of God”, which led Kuwait to revoke his citizenship.[34][35]

### Post-release reception[edit]

The Lady of Heaven has received a mostly negative reception from critics, attracting a score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.[36]

Despite being released first in the United States of America in December 2021, after less than a week since its international release on June 3, 2022, the film has proved to be a financial failure internationally, pulling a little over $70,000 - a fraction of its $15,000,000 production budget.[37]

Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times, called the film "a mechanical history lesson riddled with clichés".[38] Loayza also questioned the casting of Denise Black, a white English actress, as the mother of an Iraqi soldier before criticizing the smaller-than-expected role of Fatima in the movie. Dennis Schwartz gave the movie a grade of C and wrote "The filmmaker gives half a shout-out for his Islamic religion to go the non-violent route, but the storytelling is made up of plot points by rote, not completely convincing in its call for peace and is loaded with too many religious cliches".[39] Loayza and Schwartz shared a common criticism: the movie showed the faces of holy figures like Muhammad, but it hid the face of the eponymous Fatima, around whom the story seemed to revolve less than others such as Ali.

Zita Short of Keith Loves Movies countered this criticism with an explanation. Short asserted that there exists a tension between Fatima the human and Fatima the divine, making it "impossible to offer up a satisfactory rendering of Fatima as a human being".[40] In turn, Fatima became a multilayered personality whose significance is primarily seen by her effects on everyone around her. Short went on to praise the movie's uniqueness by contrasting it with The Message as well as its grand and larger-than-life production design, but Short ultimately rated the movie 61/100.

Roger Moore of Movie Nation gave the movie a rating of 2 out of 4 stars.[41] While Moore appreciated the impressiveness of CGI and the movie's uniqueness in a sea of religious movies, Moore downplays the film thanks to poor transitions between many different scenes, a big focus on battles in early Islam that Moore thought contradicted the movie's message, and muddled storytelling caused by "the many obstacles the production had to get around distracted one and all to the extent that they somewhat botched the messaging".

Sean Boelman of disappointment media rated the film 2/5.[42] He praised the movie's message. However, Boelman disliked the use of the flash-forward device, believing it transformed the film "from bland historical drama to emotionally cheap sermon". Other criticisms include apparent lack of knowledge of who the audience is, very fast pacing, dullness despite the film being packed with action, stiff dialogue, and low budget that made the movie feel cheap.

Sister Rose of Patheos complimented the movie's cinematography and noted the place Fatima holds in the hearts of Shia Muslims, suggesting she is a beacon of hope and peace in a violent world.[43] But Rose faulted the lack of character development, the mystery around Fatima, the British accent ubiquitous in similar films, and the violence that seemed to overshadow Fatima's role.

Reviewing the film for The Irish Times, Donald Clarke gave a rating of 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "In truth, it would require much specialist knowledge to offer worthwhile assessment of historical or theological accuracy. The film is unlikely to attract much interest from those not already engaged with the subject. It is rough around the edges throughout. But this is a sincere effort made with admirable gusto."[44]

Phil Hoad from The Guardian rated it 2 out of 5 stars, remarking "For a film that aims to promote religious diversity and freedom of thought, its metronomic alternation between time frames, narrative slavishness and laughable coda have a suffocating sense of orthodoxy".[45] Ed Potton of The Times similarly gave a two-star rating, citing "the clunky writing, wooden acting, insipid music and dodgy visual effects."[8]

Shia media outlet The Muslim Vibe surmised the film: "Quite simply, this film’s priority is to offend Sunni Muslims more than it is to depict a Shia Muslim understanding of this contentious period of Islamic history". This was qualified with a series of criticisms such as the portrayal of some of the characters considered holy in Islam: "Abu Bukar, Umar and Uthman were shown to be corrupt, treacherous and conniving from the outset without any nuance to their character. In fact, the first time the Prophet’s wife, Aisha, is shown in the film, the film’s narrator labels her as being jealous. The CGI used on the Prophet's wife’s face was intended to make her look very ugly and like, which of course, is not only offensive to all Muslims but offensive to anyone watching the film because of its immature use of cliches to frame a story. Given Yasir Habib’s record of spreading vulgar historical distortions, this film comes as no surprise, I guess."[46]

### Protests and bans[edit]

The film has been banned in Iran, Pakistan, Egypt,[22] and Morocco.[47]

Protests have also occurred in the United Kingdom. Protests were held in Bolton, Blackburn, Bradford, Sheffield and Birmingham, on allegations that the film makes mockery of Aisha and other companions of the Prophet and would provoke "Sunni and Shia tensions".[22] Film performances were cancelled in a cinema in Bolton after protests.[48] After protests in Sheffield and Birmingham, Cineworld cancelled all showings of the film in the United Kingdom. The UK cancellation was criticized as "disastrous for the arts, dangerous for free speech" by Baroness Fox, who likened the cancellation to creeping extra-parliamentary blasphemy law. However, Vue Cinemas are continuing to screen the film.[49]

The producer of the film supported the right of protesters to express their views, but said pulling out the film was against British values.[49]

## See also[edit]

* Film portal
* Islam portal

* Succession to Muhammad
* Ali in Muslim culture
* Omar at Fatimah's house
* Marital life of Fatimah
* Event of Ghadir Khumm
* Saqifah
* Ahl al-Kisa
* Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema
* Heckler's veto

## References[edit]

1. ^ Alex Ritman. "Film About Daughter of Prophet Muhammad Pulled From U.K. Cinemas Following Protests". Screen Daily. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
2. ^ Tom Grater. "First Look At $15M Historical Drama 'The Lady Of Heaven' – EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
3. ^ "The Lady of Heaven (2021)". The Numbers. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
4. ^ Flanagan, Ben (April 22, 2014). "Muslim cleric in UK probe after 'vile' Fadak TV rants". Al Arabiya English. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
5. ^ a b "Why is The Lady Of Heaven so controversial? Protests across the UK and petition signed by 120,000 people lead to film being pulled from some cinemas". Sky News. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
6. ^ "The Lady of Heaven film: Morocco bans 'blasphemous' British film". BBC News. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
7. ^ The Lady of Heaven, retrieved 2022-06-09
8. ^ a b Potton, Ed (June 10, 2022). "The Lady of Heaven review — Islamic epic in protest row is not blessed with quality". The Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
9. ^ "Shooting of episodes for British Film to take place in Tbilisi and Rustavi". 1TV. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
10. ^ "რუსთავში ბრიტანელები ფილმს იღებენ". inforustavi.ge. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-06-29). "Enlightened Kingdom Sets 'Lady Of Heaven'; Feature About Lady Fatima, Daughter Of Muhammad – Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-06-29.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. ^ Grater, Tom (2021-03-01). "First Look At $15M Historical Drama 'The Lady Of Heaven' – EFM". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-05-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. ^ Soltane, Amira (2020-12-27). "Un film sur Fatima, la fille du prophète (Qsssl) relance la problématique de la représentation à l'écran". L'Expression (in French). Retrieved 2021-06-29.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. ^ a b Al-Habib, Yasser. "The Lady of Heaven". Alhabib.org. Retrieved 2021-02-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. ^ Rizvi, Haseeb (2021-12-12). "The Lady of Heaven: A Deliberately Divisive Waste of $15 Million (Review)". The Muslim Vibe. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
16. ^ Blyth, Antonia (2021-07-14). "How 'The Lady Of Heaven' Producers Tackled The "Very Challenging" Aspect Of Depicting A Muslim Holy Person – Cannes Studio". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-16.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. ^ "'The Lady Of Heaven' Movie Trailer sparks support from around the world (press release)". KTVN. Retrieved 2021-05-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. ^ "PTA wants Lady of Heaven trailer blocked". Samaa TV. January 3, 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
19. ^ "Millionen von Zuschauern warten der Dame des Himmels". NWZ Online. Retrieved 2021-06-13.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
20. ^ "The Mahdi Servants Union (MSU) - إتحاد خدام المهدي عليه السلام". The Mahdi Servants Union (MSU) - إتحاد خدام المهدي عليه السلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-12-13.
21. ^ "Enlightened Kingdom's lady of heaven opens in the us december 10 with a score by sma's craig pruess". SMA Talent. Retrieved 2021-12-29.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
22. ^ a b c Khan, Shuiab (4 June 2022). "Silent protest held against 'provocative' film". Lancashire Telegraph.
23. ^ "Cineworld cancels The Lady of Heaven film screenings after protests". BBC News. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
24. ^ "'The Lady Of Heaven' Team Talk Bringing Lady Fatima's Story To Life & The Challenges Of Depicting Religious History – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
25. ^ "The I Success Awards Gala is a Success at Cannes". Feast Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-27.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
26. ^ "The Lady of Heaven, filmul care te va face să înțelegi mai bine Islamul. "Povestea nu s-a mai spus până acum"". Pro TV. Retrieved 2021-07-13.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
27. ^ "Islamic scholars, activists call for ban on British film about prophet's daughter - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
28. ^ "FarsNews Agency Iran Criticizes Lady of Heaven Movie as "Divisive"". FarsNews Agency Iran. Retrieved 2021-05-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
29. ^ "واکنش شمخانی به ساخت فیلم بانوی بهشت". مشرق نیوز (in Persian). 2020-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
30. ^ "پخش "بانوی بهشت" در رسانه های ایران ممنوع شد". ایسنا (in Persian). 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
31. ^ "Is the Movie "Lady of Heaven" True in its Claim?". www.ijtihadnet.com. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
32. ^ "Statement: Divisive film intends to fuel tensions between Muslims". www.aimislam.com. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
33. ^ 5Pillars. "Lady of Heaven: pure, unadulterated sectarian filth". 5Pillars. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
34. ^ "Meet the Controversial Cleric Threatening to Turn UK Muslims Against Each Other". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
35. ^ "Is "The Lady of Heaven" true in its claim?". Tehran Times. 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
36. ^ The Lady of Heaven, retrieved 2022-06-01
37. ^ The Numbers (8 June 2022). "The Lady of Heaven (2021)". The Numbers. Retrieved 8 June 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
38. ^ Loayza, Beatrice (2021-12-09). "'The Lady of Heaven' Review: A Tale of Two Eras". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
39. ^ Schwartz, Dennis (2021-12-12). "LADY OF HEAVEN, THE". Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
40. ^ Short, Zita (2021-12-10). "The Lady of Heaven – A Refreshingly Stripped Down Period Piece". Keith Loves Movies. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
41. ^ Moore, Roger (2021-12-09). "Movie Review: An early history of Islam via "The Lady of Heaven"". Movie Nation. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
42. ^ Boelman, Sean (2021-12-10). "THE LADY OF HEAVEN -- A Noble but Shoddy Faith-Based Epic". disappointment media. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
43. ^ Rose, Sister (2021-12-09). "New film "Lady of Heaven" explores story of Mohammed's daughter Fatima". Patheos. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
44. ^ Clarke, Donald (April 29, 2022). "The Lady of Heaven: A rare biopic in which the subject is never properly seen". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
45. ^ "The Lady of Heaven review – ambitious religious epic about Muhammad's daughter". the Guardian. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
46. ^ Rizvi, Haseeb (2021-12-12). "The Lady of Heaven: A Deliberately Divisive Waste of $15 Million (Review)". Retrieved 2022-06-06.
47. ^ "The Lady of Heaven film: Morocco bans 'blasphemous' British film". BBC. 12 June 2022.
48. ^ "Bolton cinema pulls 'blasphemous' film after protests". The Bolton News. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
49. ^ a b Pidd, Helen; Murray, Jessica; Pulver, Andrew (7 June 2022). "UK cinema chain cancels screenings of 'blasphemous' film after protests". The Guardian.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* The Lady of Heaven at IMDb
* The Lady of Heaven at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Lady of Heaven at Metacritic
* The Lady of Heaven at AllMovie