VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Director Qasim Basir On His Film ‘To Live & Die & Live’ At Sundance

To Live and Die and Live, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, follows film director Muhammad (Amin Joseph) who tries to cope with his stepfather’s death while battling his own drug addiction.

In an exclusive interview at the premiere, director Qasim Basir told uInterview founder Erik Meers the most important message from the film.

“That it’s ok,” he stated. “And that a lot more people are dealing with things that this character is dealing with that we don’t know, either publicly or secretly. That you’re not alone.”

Basir also revealed the hardest scene to film.

“The conversation with his mom, no question,” the director answered immediately. “That day was very hot and emotional and we just kept going and doing take after take until we got it right.”