Iman Vellani, who broke out as the lead of Marvel’s “Ms. Marvel,” is set to headline the climate thriller “Suffering Is Optional,” a Canadian co-production written and directed by Zarrar Kahn for CityLights Media.
Vellani will play Noor Rahman, a 20-year-old drama student who is cast in the lead role of an India-set adaptation of “Hamlet.” Pushed by an exacting director to pour her grief into the performance, she is simultaneously visited by the ghost of her deceased partner, who carries an impending climate prophecy. Torn between artistic ambition and institutional abuse, she must find a way to contend with both. The film explores themes of power and coming of age in a corrupt society, with campus culture wars and climate grief at its center.
Kahn made his feature debut with “In Flames,” which premiered at Cannes in 2023 and was selected as Pakistan’s official submission for the Academy Awards. He developed the “Suffering Is Optional” script drawing on the firsthand accounts of people who survived climate disasters.
Production is slated to begin in early 2027, with principal photography in Hamilton and Montreal. The film is financed by Telefilm Canada and is a co-production between CityLights Media, LBG Films, Other Memory Media, and Couronne Nord.
Lindsay Blair Goeldner (“I Like Movies”), Anam Abbas (“In Flames”), and Julie Groleau (“The Decline”) produce. Karen Harnisch (“Infinity Pool”) and Kaleem Aftab (“Memory of Princess Mumbi”) executive produce.
Vellani’s credits also include “The Marvels,” “Animal Farm” and “Tales From Woodcreek.”
