“The Heart Is A Muscle”, interview with the director Imran Hamdulay and the actor Keenan Arrison

February 22, 2025

Imran Hamdulay, director. Keenana Arrison, actor. "The Heart Is A Muscle". A powerful drama about a man who is trying to overcome his past and become a better version of himslef.

"The Heart Is A Muscle", interview with the director Imran Hamdulay and the actor Keenan Arrison Angelo Acerbi

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“The Heart Is A Muscle” selected in the Panorama section of the Berlinale 2025, is a South African film directed by Imran Hamdulay, that tells the story of man struggling to become the best version of himself. the film starts from a real fact happened to the director, almost completely reconstructed for the film, that serves as starting point in a reflection on adulthood and masculinity, trying to deconstruct it to understand it better.

How can a man rebuilt himself from a difficult past?

The question Imran Hamdulay asked himself while making “The Heart Is A Muscle” is that one: can we overcome our past and become better men? This is the will of the lead character of the film played by Keenan Arrison, whose past pf suffered abused and violence and guilt interfere with his new life of husband and father. With ferocious outcomes.

Plot

Ryan is a loving father in his mid-30s. He and his wife Laila have their hands full on their son Jude’s fifth birthday: Ryan’s close friends and their families have come over for a barbecue. The children are excited, the adults chatting animatedly, the place is filled with laughter. But this fun day is abruptly cut short when Jude suddenly goes missing. Panic spreads and a frantic search begins. When Ryan hears that Jude has been spotted in an area controlled by gangs, he drives off to that neighbourhood and beats up a man who, it later transpires, has nothing to do with the disappearance. Shortly afterwards, Jude is found: he had been hiding nearby as a prank. But the events have upset the equilibrium among the group of friends. An argument breaks out and secrets from Ryan’s past emerge. Later, the man whom Ryan beat up arrives and demands money. Also the father of a five-year-old child, he used to know Ryan when they were both teenagers...
With hip-hop influences, The Heart Is a Muscle tells the story of a young father’s search for a better version of himself, and of masculinity, transgenerational trauma and healing.

Written by: Angelo Acerbi

Guest

Imran Hamdulay

Film

The heart is a muscle

Festival

Berlinale

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