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.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
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
Monday, February 16, 2009
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/
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.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
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.
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
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.
This blog is nothing without YOU so please feel free to leave comments and send us your own commentaries to share with everyone! You can email your commentaries to muslimscreen@gmail.com .
-ScreenRighter & FilmMaqam
This blog is nothing without YOU so please feel free to leave comments and send us your own commentaries to share with everyone! You can email your commentaries to muslimscreen@gmail.com .
-ScreenRighter & FilmMaqam
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