Imran Hamdulay & His ‘The Heart Is A Muscle’ Leads Discuss Shooting Their Expansive Family Drama On A Micro Budget – Contenders International

South Africa competes in this year’s Best International Feature race with The Heart Is a Muscle, the debut feature from filmmaker Imran Hamdulay. 

The film follows Ryan (Keenan Arrison), a young father whose son goes missing during a birthday gathering. Ryan’s violent reaction to the scare sets off a chain of events that unearths past secrets and a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness.

Hamdulay, who debuted the film in the Panorama Competition at the 2025 Berlinale, said at Dealdine’s Contenders Film: International event that the idea for the film came to him after he experienced the fallout of a similar scenario in real life. 

“I was at a friend’s barbecue, and a similar incident happened where my friend’s son went missing, and everyone sprang to action. We were all running around. I’d never seen my friend like that. He’s usually a steady guy. But I’d never seen fear in his eyes like that. His kid was found very quickly. He was just hiding somewhere. But then, when his kid was found, I’d never seen anger in him like that.” 

The Heart Is a Muscle was produced by Hamdulay, Brett Michael Innes and Khosie Dali, alongside executive producer Adam Thal. Hamdulay said the film “could not have been made without” Thal, who he said pushed him to get the project over the line in a short period of time. 

“We had been talking about a bunch of other projects that have been development for a long time,” Hamdulay explained. “And he just came to me, and he said, ‘Look, do you have anything you’d like to shoot quickly on a small budget?’ And I pitched the one-liner to him, and he said, ‘I love it.’” 

Hamdulay added that Thal tasked him with finishing a script in two months. 

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“I think we shot our second draft, which is crazy. I wouldn’t recommend anyone do that, but it was kind of cool. He really pushed me,” Hamdulay said. “It was a tiny film; we shot it on $200,000. The spirit of the crew and cast was really what carried us and what carried the film. I was certainly blessed as a director to be working with great people around me.”

The film stars Arrison and Melissa De Vries — both of whom also were on the Contenders panel — along with Loren Loubser, Dean Marais, Ridaa Adams, Danny Ross, Troy Paulse and Lincoln Van Wyk. 

Check back Monday for the panel video.