Nilam Farooq red carpet interview @ Contra Kino premiere

Nilam Farooq – actress, video blogger and dubbing artist – this young, committed woman can finally be seen in the cinema again this year! In her new film“Contra“, she plays, alongside cult actor Christoph Maria Herbst (series: Stromberg), the female lead of the Arabic-origin student Naima. We, the team of FIV Magazine, were live at the premiere of the film yesterday in Cologne at the Cinedom to tell you about it. Everything you need to know about Nilam and an exclusive interview from the red carpet you can read here!

Nilam Farooq: A life with the camera

I’m sure many of you remember Nilam Farooq by her synonym “daaruum”, which she used to perform on her YouTube channel from 2010 until late 2017. What some may not have known – Nilam was already active in the acting industry as a 14-year-old and loved the camera from a young age. In addition to feature films, she has been in front of the camera for productions of well-known series such as “Tatort” or “SOKO Leipzig”, but also for a Netflix-owned production called “Du Sie Er & Wir”. As a native German of Polish-Pakistani descent, Nilam has not always had it easy and has had to make several experiences with everyday racism in her life – a topic that director Sönke Wortmann takes up in “Contra”.

“Contra”: Nilam’s role as a student.

Here you can see a clip from the trailer of Nilam’s latest movie “Contra” by director Sönke Wortmann.

Tip! You can get the trailer and all information about the movie in our article about the movie “Contra”!

• Contra film premiere

Racism, communication and… a little fashion – interview

The film Contra is about interpersonal communication, prejudice and racism, a topic that is very close to Nilam’s heart. She hopes that one day a rethinking will happen in society. Find out more about Nilam’s thoughts on racism and communication in our exclusive Red Carpet Interview!

Anticipation! Film premiere after almost three years

FIV: Hi Nilam, this is your first film premiere after Corona! How does it feel to finally be back on the red carpet?

Nilam: I am so excited! We shot the film about two and a half years ago, it’s been postponed four times. This is my baby! Every time you do, you think to yourself “Oh no!” but I’ve convinced myself, I’ve been given a very long anticipation period. I’m also really excited now that we can do this multi-city tour and also just see the response from the audience, because that’s who we make the films for in the end!

“This is my baby” – Nilam Farooq on the film.

Red Carpet Look: Nilam likes it chic and comfortable

FIV: You look beautiful again tonight, can you tell us a little more about your look?

Nilam: Sure. The look is by Nobi Talai. I love wearing stuff from Nobi because I hate that when I’m kind of uncomfortable or have to pay attention to everything. Sure, I have to pay a bit of attention here (points to her blazer that doubled as the only top), but that can be handled pretty well these days. For me, I always try a little bit, when you see the movie poster like that, not to show up in that style, so you can see, “It’s not her, she played it.”

Interview @ FIV Instagram

Live from the red carpet, a sneak peek! Follow us on Instagram for more red carpet moments:

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Check out this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by FIV MAGAZINE (@fivmagazine).

Everyday racism: Nilam’s hope for a rethink

FIV: The film deals a lot with racism and xenophobia, so we wanted to ask how important this topic is to you? You must have had some experiences with everyday racism, unfortunately, what is it like? Can you briefly tell us something about it?

Nilam: You say it quite right. I have mainly had experiences with everyday racism. I also know from many colleagues that they have had experiences with hardcore racism. With me it’s always the combination of Poland and Pakistan, so people tend to be super interested, luckily for me! But everyday racism is everywhere and always there. I didn’t know what to call it for a very long time when people would say something like, “I put on these Oriental earrings for you!” and then you’re standing there being like “…that’s nice, but….?”. I think this is an insanely important topic and I always think when these topics come up, it’s a “trend” first. But this one has been going on for quite a long time and because of that, the hope is there that with each passing day, more, so to speak, in some way, a real shift in thinking will happen. It will never be perfect, but it will be better. There is still a lot of potential!

The message of the film: good feeling for the audience

FIV: Finally, we wanted to ask what is the message of the film for the audience, what feeling should they leave the cinema with?

Nilam: First of all, when you make films, I think you should leave the cinema with a good feeling and be entertained. With us it is now specifically so, there are several topics that we of course somehow tackle, be it man-woman, be it hierarchy, migration and non-migration, academic background. But for me it’s mainly the curiosity about the other person, giving someone the chance to really get to know him and not to conclude something based on something that is really very superficial. That would be my thing, talking, communication, that’s our film!

Want more? Insights from the “Contra” premiere

The interview made you curious about the film, you want to get more impressions of the “Contra” premiere in Cologne? Click here for our main article about the film!

• Contra film premiere