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BOSTON - The American Islamic Congress (AIC) and Project Nur (PN), its student-led initiative, have announced the fall edition of the Boston Muslim Film Festival, which runs from October 13-21 and features films from across the Muslim world highlighting “Art under Fire” (complete details at www.MuslimFilm.org).
Screening will be held at the Brattle Theatre, Boston Public Library, Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern, and MIT. Co-sponsors include the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, the Global Film Initiative, Facing History & Ourselves, Americans for Informed Democracy, BU’s Women Studies Program, and Barakat.
“Muslim cultures have produced legendary works of art, from the mosaics of Marrakesh to the Taj Mahal,” explained Nasser Weddady, AIC’s Civil Rights Outreach Director. “Yet today censorship and radicalism constrain many Muslim artists around the world. Our festival explores how musicians, filmmakers, and even comedians are struggling to respond.”
One highlight is the award-winning Egyptian film “Dunia”—nominated for a grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival—which tells the moving story of a poet and dancer who suffers from the effects of female genital mutilation.
“The film festival is a wonderful opportunity for discovery,” said Ryan Stelzer, President of the Boston University chapter of Project Nur. “Not only does it promote human rights, but it gives the Boston community primary access to issues that may otherwise go overlooked. The films will undoubtedly strike a chord in the conscience of viewers, as their messages resonate deeply with those who stop and watch them.”
The festival, which premieres at Harvard Square’s legendary Brattle Theatre, features live performances coupled with each film to heighten its respective artistic theme. Following the screening of “Democracy in Dakar,” for instance, Senegalese hip-hop artists featured in the film will perform and then lead an audience discussion.
“This is an opportunity to see a side of the Muslim world we rarely hear about on the news,” observed Weddady. “Hopefully these films will inspire Bostonians of all backgrounds to appreciate art’s preciousness as well as the layered diversity of the Muslim world.”
Boston-native Tissa Hami, a featured comedian in “Stand Up” (winner of the CINE Golden Eagle Award), will perform following a screening of this documentary on Muslim-American comics.
“We see the Boston Muslim Film Festival as a new way for the general public to explore Muslim cultures and identities in a civic and artistic context,” said Weddady. “The festival is free and open to people of all backgrounds.”
“On the student front, the film festival is a means to showcase the diversity of culture and experience that exist in the Muslim world by highlighting a different Muslim voice, an artistic and civic voice that often goes unheard. Project Nur students are working hard to bring a pluralistic and civic Muslim voice to their campuses," said Jeehan Faiz, Project Nur's Campus Coordinator.
The American Islamic Congress (www.aicongress.org) is a civil-rights organization promoting tolerance and the exchange of ideas among Muslims and between other peoples. With the motto “Passionate about Moderation,” the organization leads initiatives around the world and has offices in Washington, Boston, Egypt and Iraq.
Project Nur (www.projectnur.org) is a "new light on campus" that creates a distinct and alternative Muslim voice: a civic identity grounded in pluralism and moderate thinking and action, one that dispels the perception of a monolithic Muslim voice. It emphasizes civic action with the goal of forging a cohesive and mutually respectful multicultural community of university students who are committed towards the advancement of human rights, civil rights, social justice, tolerance, understanding, and co-existence.
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