Real-Life Afghan refugee takes center stage in 'Fremont': A story rooted in reality

The film Fremont is a powerful refugee story deeply grounded in real-life experiences, and it stars Anaita Wali Zada, an actual Afghan refugee, in the lead role. 

What makes this casting particularly remarkable is that Anaita has no previous acting background, which highlights Director Babak Jalali's dedication to presenting an authentic portrayal. 

Variety has reported on this unique casting choice, underlining the director's commitment to capturing the genuine essence of the refugee experience.

Fremont set in noirish Northern California premiered at Sundance and will play in competition with Karlovy Vary this week.

Speaking to Variety, Jalali expressed that finding someone like Wali Zada and convincing her to play the central role was not an easy task.

Jalali added that there's only a small pool of Afghan actors in Europe and North America.

Jalali revealed that they cast through an open casting call. "People reached from Arizona, Florida, and California. Most of them were 2nd generation Afghan women in their 20s," Jalali told.

He unveiled that Aita sent him an email saying that she had never acted before.

The email read, "I am currently in Mayland, I came to the USA on an evacuation flight, when Kabul fell to the Taliban."

He said that he knew she would be perfect from the very first Zoom meeting.

The movie is co-written by Carolina Cavalli and Babak Jalali. Expressing the writing experience Jalali said, "It was very spontaneous."

Fremont is a story of a fighter (refugee) who tries very hard to survive and is needed to be understood.

Music Box had acquired the rights to the movie for North America.