Reflections on Bronx Princess

Eid Mubarak to everyone!

Bronx Princess is an independent film that premiered last night on PBS at 10 p.m. If you missed it, you can watch it online for a month starting today.

During a Qiyam I planned for the youth at my Masjid this past Ramadan, we held a discussion with about fifteen 11 to 16 year olds about the American-Muslim identity. To say the least, the open discussion ended with the girls on their feet arguing with each other in small groups about who was American, who wasn't, the definition of an American, of American-Muslim. Not much of a conclusion was made.

Rocky Otoo and her search and struggle to find her identity is not a secluded story - just one that you don't hear very often. Bronx Princess was about the discussion of identity and who we are in America (mostly from the point of view of American born children of immigrants).

Though I felt the movie transitioned too quickly between the events of Rocky's summer, filmmakers Yoni Brook & Musa Syeed did a great job telling her story and captured touching & intimate moments with her mother especially as well as with her father.

Bronx Princess also brought back memories of the first (and only) time I went to Syria and the culture shock I got from being in a strange country where my parents grew up and I had no clue about. It wasn't until the end of my trip and after I left till I truly understand, appreciate and was able to love Syria which in turn helped me understand who I am today.

Hopefully the girls at the Masjid can watch this movie (found here), relate to it and and help them understand their identity as well.

Book recommendations

Imam Malik used to put aside all his fiqh and hadith books during Ramadan and concentrate only on the Quran.

We should definitely do the same.

However, here are some books to keep in mind that you should be thinking about reading after Ramadan, inshaAllah. These two books are especially important when it comes to the complex topics in Islam and understanding Islam's role in various issues, which when these subjects are understood, they give you a deeper understanding of your identity as a Muslim.

The first is "Man and the Universe: An Islamic Perspective" by Mostafa Badawi . I have yet to read it, but Shaykh Yahya Rhodus at Rihla said was a must-read. Mostafa Badawi's literary work is always comprehensive and well written (read his article on the hand of the Prophet (pbuh) here). This is important for American Muslims because science and Islam always comes up in secular education and you need to know what Islam's view is relating to the corelation of science and Islam.

Another book that was recommended to me is "The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books" by Khaled Abou El Fadl.

Hafsa Kanjwal, Georgetown University Alum and recent ALIMni offers her review of the book:

The Conference of the Books: A Search for Beauty in Islam, was recommended to me by a number of friends. I never really got around to reading it though for a while, because it was over 400 pages! Thankfully, the pages go by very quickly, and I’m so glad I finally got around to it.

Simply put, this book is beautiful. Khaled Abou El Fadl’s literary style, which is quite refreshing for a Professor of Islamic Law, goes well with the short essays he writes on a variety of topics relating to the contemporary realities of Islam and Muslims. Abou El Fadl convenes an imaginary “conference of the books” of Muslim intellects from the past, scholars and knowledge powerhouses such as Ibn Hazm and Ibn Taymiyya. He engages their love for the beauty of Islam with the difficult issues that Muslims are dealing with today. It’s a really creative work that will undoubtedly leave you with a greater love for the religion and a desire to increase your own knowledge of our religions’ complexities.

Also, this is one of those books you should read one chapter at a time, and go back to it from time to time. Your understanding of the issues he raises will surely shift or change over time, and his writing allows for that—you can understand it on multiple levels. I liked that he was able to address some of the more controversial issues that do not necessarily get talked about within the Muslim establishment.

If you have any other books you would like to recommend, please let me know!

Ramadan Mubarak!

Ramadan Mubarak to Everyone... I've definitely been MIA for some time, but I am also determined to keep going with this project, inshaAllah.

Ramadan puts an extra emphasis on the Quran and worship in the middle of the night. (aka, stop watching movies and TV right now and focus on Allah)

In the coming days, I will be posting several good readings that will be beneficial during Ramadan compiled from both the Rihla and ALIM programs this year, inshaAllah.

A good book,used as text at the Rihla program this year, is Purification of the Heart , with the translation and commentary by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.

The second appendix in the back of the book talks specifically about Ramadan and how this is the perfect time to focus on getting rid of all these diseases of the heart.

Even if we have been unable to focus in the past week, we should really make our intention and strive to make it our best from now on.

Shaykh Hamza writes "Without effort and sincere trust, Ramadan can easily be just another 30 days in a year, no special moment. Even for those who fast, who mechanically deprive themselves without striving to reach deep into their souls for spiritual lessons, replenishment, and climbing , the month comes and goes with only the sense of inconvenience and then a celebration at the end. Then life goes on as it did the months of the year before. One cannot help but notice a tragedy in this: God so generously opens portals in time, truly special opportunities for us to grow, learn, and build for our Hereafter, yet people turn away from it with casual notice and perfunctory interest" (Pgs. 187-188)

May Allah strengthen us to make this our best Ramadan yet. ameen.

With that said, some good people to follow on twitter this Ramadan is Halal Boy .Add him on facebook and read his hilarious diary entries as he writes about his adventures during Ramadan.
(more on why his name is "Halal Boy" here).

Another project going on in New York City is 30 Mosques in 30 Days led by Aman Ali & Bassam Tariq .

Enjoy!

UK Muslim Youth

I recently attended a MYNA Leadership conference as a counselor and was able to meet an amazing sister, Sr. Faridha Karim, representing from Muslim Youth Helpline of the UK. Great organization, mashaAllah.

The organization also has a website for youth, Muslimyouth.net with campaigns to get Muslim youth in the UK active.

One of their documentaries on Muslim youth involved gang violence, titled Second Chance is especially interesting and brings awareness to a really important issue in the Muslim community.

Why we need an American-Muslim Tyler Perry

Hands down, Tyler Perry is cool.

The first Tyler Perry movie I saw was Diary of a Mad Black Woman. While I watched the making of the movie, I realized that this was Perrys’ first film ever. And in my opinion, his best one yet. It was a combination of a drama, comedy, love story and family movie all in one. At the same time, he promoted the idea of the ideal Black Christian family.

Perry's movies make it clear that he knows what he wants as far as portraying the ideal Black Christian community – and using his movies to give people that positive image of what to attain. Besides his TV sitcoms, I have yet to see a Tyler Perry movie without a church scene in it – which is usually the same scene where the family’s troubles all unravel and fix themselves – all because they had trust in God.

No matter what the problem is, in the end, the church is where their problems are solved.

So basically Perry is legit because he's proud of who he is and he is using movies to affirm his identity, and that is something that we, as American Muslims can learn from. This is so we don’t not push away our identity, but to embrace it.

-ScreenRighter with help from FilmMaqam

After Oz - Love Story

One of the best short film love stories I've seen on Youtube so far:

After OZ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1lkEgKzix4

Anyone that can depict a life/love story in a couple minutes or less, using tin people and no words is cool.

Each scene is well thought out and brings several messages to twist and make life of a typical and common everyday story.

Without giving away the short, its ironic that the characters are made of tin - who are not supposed to have any hearts, but in this case, they do, to further emphasize the message.

Go Vancouver Film school :-)

Shane Acker's "9"

I watched Shane Acker's "9" short film on youtube.com and thought it was genius. They are now making the short into a feature length movie with Tim Burton - more on that here.

In an interview with Shane Acker on AnimationTrip.com, if you scroll half way down -Acker starts talking the symbolism that is used in the short film.

The part that stuck out to me when he was talking about why he chose the number 9 as the main character:
"But my basic philosophy or idea behind the numbers was 9 was about as close as you can get to perfection. You know, let’s say perfection is 10. So I think that we can never achieve that perfection. We’re always flawed – every one of us. And I think 9 represents as close as you can ever possibly get to that perfection. And so that’s what 9 is."

I think that concept can be compared to the human state - one can always try to strive for perfection, but we always will have flaws. Regardless, what matters is that we are constantly striving, inshaAllah.

The coolest part about the movie is the concept of knowledge overpowering force (watch the movie to see what this is all about)

Overall, this "9" has a lot of thought put into it - not just another mindnumbing movie, but one that is interactive with the audience and keeps you on your toes. I look forward to watching the feature length movie in September, inshaAllah!

Muslim Women Fashion...

Not a movie - but still an art. This one in specific is one that gives a different perspective and challenges stereotypes of Muslim Women.

Elenany Fashion - reported by The Guardian

Shout out to Yasmin Hussein from Florida for showing me the link!

New Muslim Cool in Ann Arbor!

Come to the New Muslim Cool veiwing in Ann Arbor, along with a discussion panel afterward.

Check it out on facebook.com

The event is free!

Re-Focus...

After a short hiatus, I've come to the conclusion to change the direction of this blog, inshaAllah.

My goal inshaAllah is to change the focus of this blog. InshaAllah I will be posting up links to cool short videos that have positive messages or relay a good concept and then asking questions in order to start a discussion.

I will also try to focus more on independent short films - mostly because independent movies usually do not have to stick to Hollywood or mass media audience restrictions of excessive and unnecessary violence or sexuality.

The intention inshaAllah, is to use this blog to give Muslims a database for good independent movies to watch as an alternative to the junk that is out there today.

Here's a good start with a short film on youtube. Really good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

What morals are portrayed in this short film? Can something as simple as Free Parking (or something else?) really change the world? What symbolism is portrayed in the movie?

Young Video Makers Try to Alter Islam’s Face - from the NYTimes

This article is from last year, but it encompasses a lot about what this website is about - which is Muslims taking the opportunity of the mediums of the time period of negative stereotypes and misconceptions to tell the world to give Muslims a voice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/08video.html?th&

Enjoy!

Purchase Tickets for DeenTight Documentary!

TICKETS ARE GOING FAST. EVENT NEAR CAPACITY.

Purchase Tickets: https://deen-tight.ticketleap.com/DEEN-TIGHT--Special-Private-Viewin--05-09-2009-07-30

DEEN TIGHT (Special Private Viewing)
Start time: Saturday May 09, 2009 at 7:30 PM - Pacific Time
End time: Saturday May 09, 2009 at 11:30 PM - Pacific Time
Where: Ta'Leef Collective, 43170 Osgood Road, Fremont, CA 94539

Event Details:
Join us for an exclusive special private viewing of DEEN TIGHT.

The evening will also include a unique panel discussion with cast and crew. This event is sure to be one of a kind and something you absolutely do not want to miss!

DEEN TIGHT Cast:

Mohammed Ali - AerosolArabic
Tyson Amir - Remarkable Current
Mutah Beale aka Napoleon
Adisa Banjoko - Hip Hop Chess Federation
Anas Canon - Remarkable Current
Usama Canon - Ta'Leef Collective
DJ Kid Dragon - Table Manners
DJ Raichous - Table Manners
Fanatik - Soundstate / New Andalus
After Hijrah - Hip Hop Collective
Liza Garza - HBO Def Poet
Popmaster Fabel Pabon - Rock Steady Crew
Juan Suliman Perez -MTeam
Jason Hamza Perez - MTeam
Kumasi Simmons - Black Wallstreet
Amir Sulaiman - HBO Def Poet
Barry Danielian - Trumpeter

The event is scheduled to take place:

Saturday, May 9th 2009 (7:30pm-11:30pm)
Ta'Leef Collective
43170 Osgood Road
Fremont, CA

Event Restrictions:
Due to certain language content. Viewers ages 13 and under are strongly discouraged. Absolutely no children will be admitted during the private viewing of this film. No exceptions will be made. All those planning to view the film must purchase a ticket in advance. Tickets to this special event will only be available for purchase in advance through our online box office.

Hijabtrendz.com Exclusive!

Check out the interview by Mariam Sobh with Iman Zawahry, a Muslim Filmmaker!

http://hijabtrendz.com/2009/03/30/hijabtrendz-exclusive-iman-zawahry/

New Muslim Cool: Filmmaker's Statement

“NEW MUSLIM COOL”

By Jennifer Maytorena Taylor

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 on PBS (Check local listings)

Filmmaker’s Statement

I had an accidental start as a documentary filmmaker. Injuries ended my modern-dance career before it really began, and during my recuperation I spent a few years teaching in New York City and San Francisco Head Start and special-education classrooms. I started to learn that everybody has a story worth listening to, if you can just take the time and really open your ears and mind. And “normal” is usually in the eye of the beholder.

I alternated those teaching gigs with time spent living in Brazil and Argentina, as both countries were transitioning to elected governments from the military dictatorships of the ’70s and ’80s. Watching my friends and relatives emerge from the trauma of those years, I was struck by how powerfully each country’s pop culture was helping people express themselves collectively and individually.

Flashing forward to the period right after 9/11 — I was working as a producer at San Francisco’s PBS affiliate, KQED, when offered the chance to do some pieces on South Asian youth in the Bay Area. In the course of my research I discovered a thriving Muslim hip-hop scene in Oakland, where an incredibly diverse group of young men and women from both convert and born-Muslim backgrounds were collaborating to create a culture that was both expressing their faith and reaffirming their American-ness.

It struck me that these young artists were using pop culture in much the same way those Brazilian and Argentine musicians were doing a decade before — to coalesce as a community after a terrible event, while making new spaces for individual expression that would further the evolution of a shared national identity.

Thinking of other seminal cultural and musical moments, I came up with a be-bop inspired title, New Muslim Cool; put together a team that includes my two amazing co-producers Kauthar Umar and Hana Siddiqi; raised some initial funds and started filming.

At first we thought we would make a “survey” film about American Muslim youth culture, a sort of ensemble piece with several intersecting characters on the road with a small Muslim hip-hop label. The film would explore the diversity and dynamism of this young American community, examine hip-hop as the lingua franca of youth everywhere, and show how young American Muslims — like so many other people — are using new technologies to bring faith and pop culture together.

All of those cultural themes still run through the finished film. But once we decided to focus on Hamza Perez and his family and community in Pittsburgh, the project took on a whole other life and deeper meaning. Hip-hop culture became less the focus of the film and more the context, and the real heart of the film became Hamza’s and his wife Rafiah’s day-to-day and spiritual life.
We followed Hamza, Rafiah and their community as they faced the ups and downs of life through three years. They confronted everyday challenges like getting to know the in-laws and having to cope with Rafia giving birth by C-section, and not-so-everyday challenges like possibly being under some form of surveillance that nobody could quite figure out. Often these disparate circumstances were laid directly on top of each other, so in the space of two minutes during an interview Rafiah would wonder about a mysterious panel van parked outside her house and then ask who forgot to put the lid on the peanut butter. It was a little surreal sometimes, but so is real life when you really think about it.

At the outset of this project when we were thinking it would be a cool and clever film about hip-hop culture, I’m not sure any of us — crew and characters alike — anticipated how deeply we would end up exploring the most elemental processes that make us human: the need so many of us have for some form of faith, to seek goodness, maintain hope, find forgiveness, fall in love. But that’s part of the magic of making long-form documentaries. You just never know where you’ll end up. And wherever that is you’ve been profoundly changed, for the better by the journey.

-Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, Director/Producer/Writer.

Taylor's Filmmaker Statement was originally posted for PBS's POV.

"New Muslim Cool: will be the opening night feature on the acclaimed PBS series P.O.V. on June 23rd. Check out local listings: http://www.pbs.org/pov/tvschedule.php

Bugs Life Wisdom

The short scene from A Bugs Life I want to discuss starts with a leaf falling in the middle of the long line of ants that leads to a huge pile of food. The colony was gathering this food for the grasshoppers. The falling leaf lands in front of one of the ants and all of the sudden, this ant couldn't see the line and didn't know what to do... he starts to freak out.

The Queen Ant comes to the rescue, bringing with her a Specialist in this crisis area. The Specialist quickly calms the ant down and tells him it wasn't a big deal, they were going to go around the leaf. The Specialist slowly leads the ant around the leaf right back into the line.

That's amazing. This short scene in the cartoon can be compared to people who don't know what to do when a small obstacle is put in front of them. And while it may seem large (the size of the leaf compared to the ants), in reality, it is really a simple solution.

However, the scene also portrays a specialist leading the way back to the goal - getting back in line to put the food for the grasshoppers. It is interesting that sometimes we go through this as well. We may get off the right path because we reach a seemingly difficult obstacle or obstruction, but once we take other's advice or look at things from a different perspective, we can see that it's not that difficult to get back on track to attain our goal, inshaAllah.

-ScreenRighter

Want to be a Filmmaker?

By ScreenRighter

The following is an article based on an interview by ScreenRighter with Murad Amayrah, a film maker, producer and director. He is also head of productions for the Mass Media Foundation.

Murad Amayrah has simple advice for aspiring film makers: Grab a camera and make a film.

It’s probably going to suck, he said, but you’ll be able to discover your strength and weaknesses and build your skills from there.

Amayrah said there are three things that you need to worry about when making a film: Your story, your story, and your story.

Just pull out your laptop or pen and start writing, he said. Then shoot the film.

"Even if the movie has bad camera work, if you have a good solid story, then people will watch your movie," he said.

If you really want to learn the rules of filmmaking, go to film school, Amayrah advises, because “you have to know the rules of film making - so that you can break them.”

"Show [your movie] to people, take their criticism," he said. "You might discover that you're good at one or two things but not so good at another."

Another mistake is when people want to go into film school without knowing what it really entails, he said.

Find out which schools let you experiment, and remember that making movies doesn’t have to mean following Hollywood plots frequent with sex and violence.

"I personally do not believe you have to compromise your values to get into the industry," he said.

He points to “Paradise Now” and “Crash,” as major films with good morals.

He also cautions Muslims who want to use film making as a form of dawah to focus foremost on the art forms true purpose, which is to tell stories.

"If you want to do dawah, he says, "Go do a dawah table.”

Muslim’s often have a different perspective on life that can help them offer something that other’s cant, he said. Have a different perspective on life, on stories, for example, so they bring to the table something different, he said.

One example he presents is a story from hadith or Quran or even a story about a girl who struggled to wear the Hijab.

“To us that’s something that’s very standard, but to our audience that we're trying to reach, that is a unique story, they've never heard of a story like that,” he said.

Movies with a good story do get a chance to get to Hollywood, he said. On the other hand, no buying power is a reason Muslim filmmakers have a hard time making it big.

"Muslims don't buy Islamic films, we bootleg them," he said, pointing to the gay community as an example of how to be supportive.

"Any time that they made a movie with a gay character, they bought it off the shelf," he said, adding that major Hollywood companies are not going to buy movies that people won't buy.

He points to filmmaker Mustafa Akkad, who made “The Message” but lost money on it and had to make “Halloween.”

"It’s very frustrating when your own community is not supporting us," he said.

New Muslim Cool Trailer...

The New Muslim Cool Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMWi2asGPw

"American East" Movie Review

If you want to make a social point in a movie, there should be two rules of thumb.

a) Entertainment Value
b) Not making the message overbearing

Do not continue if you do not want to be spoiled…

AmericanEast is an attempt at mainstreaming American Muslims and attempts to portray the struggles Muslims face in the United States. In my opinion, they overdid it and never established a coherent plot. And on top of that, I found that the characters had no depth and some were cartoonish caricatures.

The main character, Mustafa Marzoke, is an easy going immigrant from Egypt that owns a Middle Eastern restaurant in Los Angeles in a (fictional?) neighborhood called “Little Arabia”. He is an archetypal jolly “just happy to be in America” immigrant with a heart of gold. His character reminded me of the way Russian immigrants were portrayed in the early 1980’s.

Mustafa gets detained at the airport in the beginning of the movie while looking for his son Mohammed. One can understand being afraid of losing a child, but Mohammed was about 13 or 14 and Mustafa was screaming through the airport in search of him as if here a toddler. It just came off as a weird over reaction. But there was no reason for the police to jump and grab him either. The entire sequence was strange. By the way, Mustafa was picking up his cousin Sabir who’d come from Egypt to marry Mustafa’s sister Salwah in an arranged marriage.

Meanwhile, Mohammed, Mustafa’s young son was having some type of crisis of faith and explicitly told Mustafa that he no longer wanted to be Muslim. However, the movie never resolved that that angle was left.

Leila Marzouke, was Mustafa’s dope smoking/dawah giving daughter. She had a scene that was like an infomercial in which she is talking about Islam and Middle Eastern history with her friend while smoking marijuana. That seemed to be her only purpose in the movie. Came off as very forced and as if the movie was preaching to the audience.

Sam, was Mustafa’s Jewish partner in his business. They really wanted you to know that he was Jewish. He had an Israeli flag on his car, wore a Star of David ring and yarmulke.
Salwah Marzouke, Mustafa’s sister, was a nurse that styled hair in the back of her brother’s restaurant and was arranged to marry her cousin Sabir. However she did not like him and they did not get married. But the cousin was never informed (at least not on camera) and the story was dropped. Salwah was also interested in a doctor at her hospital who was not Muslim.
Omar Nasser was an aspiring actor that drove a cab owned by Mustafa. As an Arab, he was only offered parts portraying terrorists. While Omar was getting coffee, someone thought he had explosives in his bag and confronted him. Omar got angry and jokingly told him that he was going to blow up the place to scare him. However, the employee called the police and Omar was arrested for a few hours causing him to miss an audition for a non-terrorist part. This causes him to snap and later he takes his co-workers hostage and is eventually shot by a sniper. The movie was already struggling, but at this point it went completely over the cliff.

Then there was Murad, an angry anti-Jewish conspiracy theorist that cursed like a sailor. I suspect he was there to provide some comic relief, but he was simply annoying.

Every extra in the movie was a bigot that was irrationally afraid of Arabs. The people in the airport. The FBI agents. Omar’s racist co-workers. The newscasters. The customers in coffee shops. The people working in the coffee shops. Everyone. I understand that they wanted to make a point about the struggles of Muslim Arab-Americans, but you can’t make it so blatant that it takes away from the story. And most of all..it must be entertaining.


-Tariq Nelson is an activist that lives in the Washington, DC area. This post was taken from his blog: tariqnelson.com . You can find the blog post here: http://www.tariqnelson.com/2009/01/americaneast/

Press Release: Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival

Press Release

Ann Arbor Palestine Film FestivalMarch 11, 2009 - March 14, 2009

On March 11, 2009 at 8 pm, the Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival will make its debut at the world renowned Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As one of the few Palestine film festivals to take place in the Midwest, the Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival will surely bring attention to the growing number of films made about and by Palestinians.

The Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival brings you an array of comedy, drama, fiction, non-fiction, features, shorts, and experimental films, which all showcase the diversity and strength of Palestinian cinema. These films represent the true nature of Palestinians and the Palestinian narrative, in stark contrast to the bias and stereotypes that mainstream news and media present. The breadth of the stories and the emotions expressed in these films know no bounds.
The opening night feature film, Salt of This Sea (Dir. Annemarie Jacir), starring acclaimed spoken word poet Suheir Hammad, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, and was Palestine’s official submission to the 81st Academy Awards. It is also known to be the first feature-length fictional film to be written and directed by a Palestinian woman.
Other films in this year’s line-up include Laila’s Birthday (Dir. Rashid Masharawi), Driving to Zigzigland (Dir. Nicole Ballivian), Carried by the Wind (Dir. Adam Sebire), Hardball (Dir. Suha Arraf), Make A Wish (Dir. Cherian Dabis) and Slingshot Hip Hop (Dir. Jackie Salloum), which was an official selection at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

In light of the recent tragic events that took place in Gaza, the Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival will be donating part of the proceeds from ticket sales to the established charity United Palestinian Appeal.

The Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival debuts on March 11, 2009 at 8pm and runs until March 14, 2009. For more information on film schedules and tickets, please visit: www.a2palestinefilmfest.org.

Featured Film Maker: Sultan Sharrief

My name is Sultan Sharrief. I am an independent filmmaker from Detroit Michigan. Right now I am putting finishing touches on my second feature film entitled Bílal’s Stand- a semi-autobiographical story of the challenges and tribulations Black Muslim youth face. The film was made as part of a youth film program I created as a partnership between my production company Beyond blue productions and the University of Michigan. The program, entitled “Student EFEX” Encouraging the Filmmaking EXperience, puts U M students from many fields of study together with inner-city high school students. The purpose is to give creative and energetic students the opportunity to make a professional film while simultaneously installing ethical responsibilities through the hands-on learning, the promotion of teamwork, patience, responsibility, networking, and cross-cultural communication skills.

People always ask me (especially Muslims), isn’t it scary being a filmmaker and not having a steady job or steady income (I work project to project). I simply smile and tell them that, “God willing, everything will work out”. The truth of the matter is that I feel I have just as much job security as any engineer or doctor. When it all boils down, anything any individual has is from God, and it isn’t solely based on the work that he/she does. So being a filmmaker is only as risky as God makes it for me and, thankfully, he’s blessed me a thousand times over. Much of my reasoning and my decision to become a filmmaker comes from my interpretation of the following Hadith, “"I am as My servant expects Me to be. I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I would remember him to Myself. And if he remembers Me in a gathering, I would remember him in a gathering, which is even better….”

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2006 with a degree in Film and Video Studies. In addition to filmmaking, I have a background in arts programming and community service. I used this experience in 2004 when producing my first 35mm feature film- which was (inadvertently) done in the manner mentioned above. The The Spiral Project, which was budgeted by Hollywood agents to cost 3 million dollars, was shot in metro Detroit for $100,000.00 through the use of creative producing, dedicated students, and community involvement. Three weeks after our premiere, the film was nominated for a 2006 MTV Movie Award in the best student film category. It was one of five finalists out of over five hundred entries. While we did not win, the publicity got us in touch with Tapestry films (Pay it Forward, Wedding Crashers) and they picked up the film for management.

Although I was thrilled with the success of the film, in retrospect I felt that we could have accomplished so much more. We were sixty students strong, putting in eighty hour weeks, using all of our resources, and running all over Metro Detroit, but the content of the film—a high school playwright who got caught up with a dangerous girl—didn’t do the process justice. I also felt that our portrayals of the inner-city, the place where many students like myself call home, were stereotypical and a bit derogatory. As a diverse group of students we had a rare type of networking power and resourceful dedication that can really make a difference, not only in regards to filmmaking, but in the community. This power is what we transformed into the EFEX project and it has been running successfully ever since.

Sultan Sharrief

www.bilalsstand.com

Movie Review: Iron Man

“Iron Man” tells the story of weapons magnate Tony Stark, who goes from misanthropic merchant of death to philanthropic superhero. (Spoilers below.) He constructs a metallic robotic suit that enables him to fly, break down walls, and shoot various weapons. He fights terrorists in Afghanistan and an executive from his own company named Obadiah Stane who tries to wrest control from Stark. For a detailed plot summary go to the relevant Wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_(film), or for those of you who distrust Wikipedia, try IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/synopsis.

My high school English teacher, Mrs. Carpenter, used to say that meaning-making begins with title. So let’s start with the title – “Iron Man.”

I turned to http://www.dictionary.com for some assistance. It gives three definitions for “iron man:”

1.	a person, as a worker or athlete, of great physical endurance who can be depended upon to perform a given task or job tirelessly.

2.	a machine that performs a job formerly done by hand; robot.

3.	Slang. a dollar bill or a silver dollar.

The first definition expresses the heroic nature of Iron Man. He does have incredible endurance as he proves early in the film when he is imprisoned by terrorists. Obadiah Stane, the disloyal Stark Industries executive, describes Tony Stark as a man who is always working.

The second definition, a machine or robot, captures another aspect of Iron Man. He represents a merging of robot and machine.

The third definition also has some relevance to the movie. Tony Stark is amazingly wealthy, being the second generation CEO of a multinational defense corporation. Stark is defined by his money. His virtues and his vices both flow from his immense wealth. His wealth enables him to build the suit that turns him into Iron Man. But his tendencies to drink, to gamble, and to philander are also products of his wealth.

Iron Man is a different kind of hero from someone like say, Superman. Superman was raised as Clark Kent, a Kansas farm boy. Iron Man grew up as the son of Howard Stark, a brilliant industrialist. In a flashback, the film reveals that Tony was a boy genius, graduating summa cum laude from M.I.T. at age seventeen. Blessed with wealth and genius, Stark is used to getting whatever he wants at an instant. One could say that he is addicted to instant gratification.

Does Iron Man represent America? Let’s look at the evidence. Today America is the world’s only superpower. Though it trails many other countries in the quality of its education, infrastructure and health care, it leads the world in military might. From time to time, it has taken on the role of international policeman, trying to mediate conflicts around the world.

Iron Man represents the paragon of military technology. He has agility and power. When he learns about a conflict going on in Afghanistan, he immediately flies over to intervene. He may not be a paragon of morality, but no one surpasses his military strength.

That is, no one except Obadiah Stane. Stane uses the resources of Stark Industries to build his own robotic exoskeleton to become Iron Monger. The name “Obadiah Stane” is quite telling. Obadiah is the name of a prophet and a book of the Old Testament. The book focuses on the topic of retribution. Obadiah feels betrayed by Stark when he decides to end his company’s defense business. Stane becomes Iron Monger to exact his revenge. And the surname “Stane” reminds us of how rage stains the heart.

The heart as metaphor recurs throughout the film. The explosion in Afghanistan at the movie’s beginning causes shrapnel to get stuck in Stark’s chest. Another prisoner, Yinsen, implants an electromagnet in his body to prevent the shrapnel from ripping his heart open. Stark replaces the device when he gets back to the U.S. His assistant, Pepper, helps him do the operation. He tells her to incinerate it, but she decides to keep it.

The explosion that leads to Stark being injured by one of his own weapons totally changes his worldview. Before the explosion, he thought his company was helping America stay safe and free. Afterwards, he realizes that his weapons are being misused by warlords to create misery around the world. One could say that he has a drastic change of heart. When he trusts Pepper to help in his operation, in a sense, he is giving his heart to her. When she keeps it, she encases it in glass with the message, “Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart” next to it.

The film does not carry a strong pro-war or pro-peace message. At one point, a soldier poses for a picture with Stark and makes a peace sign with his fingers. Stark says, “No gang signs please. Just kidding, go ahead, I love peace.” The movie does question the extent to which better weapons actually make us safer. Any weapon can fall into the wrong hands so hoping that the latest weapon will end war is rather naïve. Yet it does allude to the nuclear bomb which has considerably helped to prevent a world war in the past sixty years. But we cannot forget the hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians who died because of that bomb.

Ultimately the film is about redemption. Like many heroes (including Shane, Umar ibn al-Khattab (R), and Malcolm X), Iron Man breaks with an immoral past to try to bring about a brighter future.

-Asad Jaleel is a graduate student of the University of Illinois at Chicago who lives and teaches in Naperville, Illinois.

How Films Impact Us

I would bet you that an overwhelming majority of the world's population know what a film is. We can't assume that everyone has seen a film of course, but I'm sure that most people in most populations around the world, would be able to say they know what a film is.

So what is a film? Well in this context, a film is a feature-length fictional narrative. Let's not forget of course, that we have short films and documentaries, but in the popular and mainstream sense of the word, movies, or films, are typically 90 minutes to over 3 hours (ahem, the subcontinent), and are based on stories.

That's really what it comes down to – storytelling. The history of motion pictures is of telling stories through film, and now also through video. Name a topic or issue and there's probably a film about it. Films are also about conflict – conflict drives the story. At the heart of the narrative is the conflict. Without the conflict, internal or external of the characters, there would be no story. And that goes for fiction and documentary films.

So what sort of impact and influence do films have on us? Well ok, this should be obvious. They make us cry, they make us laugh, they make us scared, and sometimes sad or even frustrated. Films have a considerable influence on us, and not just on how we feel, but also on how we think about and perceive our world.

I will demonstrate with a couple of examples. Rang De Basanti was a massive Hindi film that came out in 2006, and starred Aamir Khan, my all-time favourite Indian actor. RDB's story and conflict is essentially about how the ruling elite of India today can be just as oppressive and ruthless as the British who colonized India. This film raised my awareness of the corruption in the Indian government and also gave me a better understanding of Indian revolutionaries, who are shown during the time of British India.

So films can have a positive influence on us and can raise our awareness of certain issues or communities. On the other hand, some films play into stereotypes and thus subversively influence audiences to see the communities represented onscreen in a negative light. I find this to be most prevalent in Hollywood, out of all the film industries. Hollywood films are typically racist, sexist, xenophobic, and so on – and Hollywood producers and directors think nothing of it. A classic example is John Ford's The Searchers with John Wayne, which depicted Native Americans as being utter savages – violent, bloodthirsty, and primitive. Effectively, this portrayal was a dehumanization of Native Americans. Such depictions certainly influenced audiences' perception and understanding of Native Americans extremely negatively.

The films that we see have a significant role in shaping our understanding of the world around us, including people different from you and me, and on social issues. Don't think for a moment that you're an exception – trust me, you're not. Visual images have an accumulative effect and can either positively or negatively impact our thinking and understanding. It's up to you to decide what you watch. I recommend you watch films that are entertaining but will also educate you and provide you with more perspective on our world.

- Hena Ashraf is a filmmaker with interests in photography, writing, and new media. She founded the Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival in the summer of 2008, and is a fierce advocate for the making and use of independent media.

Movie Review: "Le Grande Voyage"

If you've never seen Ismael Ferroukhi's independent film, "Le Grand Voyage,” this is one you don't want to miss. Le Grand Voyage is one of those movies that I felt really related to our everyday lives as Muslims living in the west. In today's world, you hear key phrases like "clash of civilizations" in reference to immigrants and their lives in the west. This independent film gives us a story of two people going through that “clash of civilizations”. Ferroukhi does an amazing job in showing the complex relationship grow between the father and son, a father that was a good religious man and a son that is at heart, a good person, but in his own world – or really living in the “dunya”.

The film depicts a Moroccan immigrant who takes his French-born son with him to the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, or the Hajj. While the pilgrimage itself is a spiritual journey, the trip that the father and son take together is a spiritual journey in itself and shows the immense generation gap between them. Hamza Yusuf once said that a long time ago the trials and tribulations used to be on the trip to hajj and it was a relief to arrive; now the trials and tribulations begin when we arrive at hajj. Yusuf’s quote is a reflection on how the father says how he wants the trip with his son to purify him before reaching Makkah. Once the father and son arrive in Makkah, the atmosphere of the movie is calm with the images of millions of pilgrims walking towards the Kaabah.

It’s clear, from the moment that the son, Reda, who is in his 20s, gets in the car with his father, driving through several countries to get to Makkah, Saudi Arabia; this may be the first time in his life that they really share any father son time. While the father is a depicted as a pious man, he seems to have never taught his son anything about his religion, Islam. Throughout the movie, the father speaks in Arabic and the son in French, giving an example how people may not know how to integrate the cultures of the west and east. As a result, a clear generation gap occurs.

The movie captures your attention with the twists and turns of the father and son’s relationship and how they learn from each other – though it’s mostly the son learning from the father. More than anything, this movie is a reminder to the younger generation, the duty we have towards respecting our elders and understanding our religion in order to comprehend and be proud of who we are.

-ScreenRighter

Welcome to MuslimScreen!

MuslimScreen is a blog for individuals to write Islamically or morally inspired commentaries of Movies. This is also a outlet to have discussions on the social and cultural effects movies have on society.

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-ScreenRighter & FilmMaqam