I am a documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles with a focus on social-justice issues like gender equality, immigration and healthcare reform. Like many of my creative peers, I believe the tradition of storytelling is vital because it affirms one’s own experiences and reflects back narratives that makes spaces for others to exist….
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AltMuslimah recently interviewed filmmaker Usmaan Z. Chaudhry about his upcoming documentary on art and artists in the U.S and how they shape our country’s cultural identity. What is your documentary about and when will it release? Through the eyes of artists from diverse backgrounds, my documentary aims to demonstrate how…
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I’ve been thinking a lot about empathy, lately. Starting here: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I’ve often wondered if we are born to be empathetic, or if is it something that has to be proactively cultivated within ourselves. Humans are intrinsically programmed to…
Read MoreLike so many others, I was delighted when Mahershala Ali’s nabbed the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year. The fact that we had mutual friends, and that he belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was just a happy coincidence. Despite my joy, I waited for the backlash I knew…
Read MoreArt helps create and sustain social and political transformation. Sometimes that transformative power is more about the artist than the art—or, in the case of Mahershala Ali’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor in Moonlight, about national recognition for that artist. Ali’s win gave the spotlight to his performance, yes,…
Read More“I invite anyone here who hears me to work to stop the bloodshed in Syria and around the world.” The White Helmets, directed by Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara, took home the award for best documentary short at the 89th annual Academy Awards on Sunday. The short centers on…
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You might know Kathreen Khavari, an Iranian-American actress, as the voice of Muslim Ms. Marvel in the popular Avengers Assemble cartoon series. She is also unleashing a Reign of Terror in response to Donald Trump and the current state of America. Reign of Terror is a three-part YouTube series that follows a focus group seemingly organized to discuss…
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Popular American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola speaking at a press conference at the 15th Marrakech International Film Festival (MIFF) quoted the Qur’an, specifically Surah Al Fatiha giving emphasis to the message of peace, mercy, tolerance and love advocated by the Holy Book. “If you know the Qur’an, the first words…
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Disney-Pixar recently released the teaser for the upcoming Sanjay’s Super Team. The animated short—the first from the studio that features an Indian-American family as the main characters—focuses on a young boy who would rather spend his day watching superheroes on TV than partake in his dad’s religious meditation. The seven-minute…
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It began as a project for MTVDesi in 2013: comedienne Radhika Vaz and writer/performer Nadia Manzoor debuted the humorous musings of two hijabi Brooklyn implants, Shagufta and Fatima, in a show called “Shugs & Fats.” The project is now a web-based series highlighting their “quest to reconcile their long held…
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