Short-film review: reflections on race – Mahnoor Euceph’s 11:11
August 26, 2025
Jasmine (left) and Noori (right), turning into white girl in Mahnoor Euceph’s 11:11
Aya Pfeufer appreciates insightful new comedy short exploring identity and acceptance
Mahnoor Euceph’s 11:11 is an insightful and comedic coming-of-age short film that explores themes of identity and the desire for acceptance. The preview centres around Noori (played by Tara Raani from Grown-ish), a 16-year-old Pakistani-American, who reflects on her identity.
Mahnoor Euceph’s 11:11 is an insightful and comedic coming-of-age short film that explores themes of identity and the desire for acceptance. The preview centers around Noori (played by Tara Raani from Grown-ish), a 16-year-old Pakistani-American, who reflects on her identity.
From the beginning, we see Noori’s early self-reflection when she says, “I was in the third grade when I realised I was brown.” This sets the tone for her path of self-discovery. There’s a change in culture as she moves from Pakistan to California. Noori describes changing social platforms, from MySpace to Facebook in 2009.
Euceph humorously categorises the South Asian experience with terms like ‘FOB’ (Fresh off Boat), ‘culture vulture’, ‘coconut’ and ‘race traitor’, all while emphasising Noori’s challenge to perhaps fit in.
We see how she deeply admires a boy in her class called Jeff, who seems to represent what it means to be ‘cool’. He has a history of dating many girlfriends, all of whom are white. Noori daydreams about Jeff, doodling his name in her notebook during class, hopeful that they will get together.
The house party scene later at Jeff’s house depicts Noori’s journey. When Jeff tells her she’s “not his type”, we see the hurtful reality of rejection of her interest in him. Her friend, Jasmine (an enthusiastic and big fan of the Jonas brothers) and Noori chat in the restroom.
Noori’s interactions at Jeff’s house party hint at the absurdities of identity
It’s 11:11am (associated with wish-making), and Jasmine suggests that Noori make a wish. She glares into the mirror, with mascara smudged down her face from previously crying, and states: “I wish I was his type.”
The lights suddenly flicker, and Noori turns into a pretty blond-haired, blue-eyed girl. This transformation makes us think about how society views beauty and desirability, as well as the extent to which we might go to fit societal ideals. Beauty itself can be subjective, but Noori seems fully aware that Jeff’s standards/type are white women who fit the Eurocentric beauty ideas/features.
As they sit on the grass, Jasmine, still in disbelief of Noori’s transformation, warns that Noori will go back to her normal state after 12 hours. Noori’s interactions at Jeff’s house party hint at the absurdities of identity, like through the accent challenge, where Noori’s Indian accent is misidentified as being from Kazakhstan by one of Jeff’s friends.
There could be a lack of cultural awareness among Noori’s white peers. Jeff’s friends tend to dismiss her with comments about her body and ethnicity, highlighting the film’s critique of judgments based on ethnicity.
Also, during the party, when they are all in the hot tub, the others make derogatory comments on Noori’s body and mock Jasmine’s passion for the Jonas brothers. Unaware of the time she has left as a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl, Noori tries to enjoy herself, but starts to feel upset about her peers’ meanness.
Intriguing and humorous, tackling important subjects like identity, race and self-acceptance
From a distance, Jasmine waves frantically at Noori, repeatedly pointing at her phone, attempting to signal the time. One of the girls at the party mocks Jasmine, and Noori brushes the hurtful comments aside, ignoring and not standing up for her friend.
As she reaches a breaking point, Noori rushes out in her transformed state, looks into the mirror, desiring to return to her true self. She reflects as she says, “I wish I were just me again,” relatable perhaps to anyone who has ever felt pressure to change themselves – whether their appearance or personality or both – to be accepted by others.
11:11 was chosen for Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini and Dr. Stacy L. Smith’s Proof of Concept Accelerator committee, including Greta Gerwig and Lilly Wachowski. The film is supported by Netflix, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Dirty Films.
11:11 is intriguing and humorous; it tackles important subjects like identity, race and self-acceptance. As it premiere’s at the HollyShorts Film Festival, 11:11 is sure to relate to many viewers. This film encourages us to embrace and be proud of our background and what makes up who we are, and to celebrate the power and beauty in individuality.
