Документальный фильм «Framed» расскажет о ложном обвинении в терроризме студента из Шри-Ланки в Сиднее

The wrongful terrorism case of a Sri Lankan student in Sydney has been set as a feature documentary by Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma, with the first-look poster for “Framed” unveiled ahead of the Toronto Film Festival‘s inaugural market. “Framed” follows the case of Kamer Nizamdeen, a 25-year-old overseas student who was arrested and held in solitary confinement for a month on terrorism charges, only to be released with all charges dropped. He has since fought an ongoing battle to clear his name. According to the filmmakers, Nizamdeen was framed as a terrorist by a jealous colleague through a forged document, in a case they describe as touching on Islamophobia and a deception that misled a nation. The documentary, from Sharma’s outfit Temple, was shot across Sydney, Melbourne, Colombo and New York, and features interviews with Kamer and Najwa Nizamdeen, along with principal lawyer Moustafa Kheir of Birchgrove Legal. It is edited and co-written by Karin Steininger, known for “Anne Frank Remembered.” Popular on Variety “The easy version of this film is a story about a man the system got wrong,” Sharma said. “That is not what we found. One person wrote one document, and everybody who picked it up afterwards believed it. Nobody here is the villain the headlines wanted, and that is exactly why it works as a thriller.” Sharma noted the documentary arrives nearly eight years after Nizamdeen’s arrest, and pointed to the Australian Federal Government’s July 2026 response to the country’s first national report on Islamophobia, which accepted 35 of its recommendations. Sharma, whose credits include “UNindian,” “The Run” and “Brand Bollywood,” is widely credited for pioneering Australia’s film links with South Asia. The producing team for “Framed” also includes executive producers Janine Barnes (“Downriver”) and Cathy Rodda (“Bromley: Life After Dark”), with AFTRS graduate Farabee Kabir in senior roles. “‘Framed’ arrives with that conversation already under way, and with the case that sits underneath it,” Sharma said. “To have Karin Steininger join us, alongside Janine Barnes, Cathy Rodda and our expanding team of creative and producing partners, gives this important and timely Australian story the international ambition it deserves.” “Everybody in this film behaves reasonably on the information in front of them, and the information is false,” Steininger said. “It is rare to find a story that is at once so personal, so political and so socially relevant.” Steininger added that the documentary contains a twist she declined to describe, saying audiences should discover it the way Nizamdeen did. Forum Films is handling theatrical sales across Australia and New Zealand, while all other territories remain available, covering theatrical, streaming, broadcast and impact rights. The rollout will also include a dedicated impact and event-screening push to support theatrical bookings in Australia along with select international markets. “Framed” received development funding from Screen Australia, Screen NSW and SBS, and Screen NSW also backed the film’s post-production, digital and visual effects work. The documentary was also chosen for FACTory, the Australian International Documentary Conference’s forum for pitching new factual and documentary projects to international buyers.