Category Archives: Film and Video

Iranians in The Mist

Contemporary Art, Film and Video, Iran, Journalism and Media, Literature

Demystifying Iran

by Noor Iqbal, Foreign Policy in Focus, July 29, 2009

Post-election turmoil in Iran has brought the country closer to the top of America’s foreign policy concerns. More importantly, though, it has piqued the interests of the American public. Green is the new black, Moussavi and Khamenei have become household names, and tweeting about Iranian politics has never been more popular.

But what is Iran like beyond its politics and the Western media hype? Iranian-born filmmaker Maryam Habibian tackles this question in her most recent documentary, The Mist. The film delves into the lives of young artists, poets, playwrights, and intellectuals in Iran whose creative energy flourishes alongside fundamentalist traditions. It explores the balance they reach between artistic expression and the limitations of a conservative political regime. Habibian shows her viewers another side to Iran, one that has been largely overlooked by conventional media. She is committed to showing her audience that a society cannot be defined solely by its political system and that when it comes to Iran, we are not facing a clash of civilizations.

Her film was recently screened in New York City as part of the NewFilmmakers Summer Festival.

NOOR IQBAL: What motivated you to make this film? Continue reading Iranians in The Mist →

Hip Hopping the Ummah

Anthropology/Sociology, Film and Video, Islam in America

Muslim Americans in the post-9/11 era are deepening ties between hip-hop and Islam

by Suad Abdul Khabeer, The Root, June 23

Real hip-hop heads know that Islam and hip-hop have been longtime friends, feeding off each other’s energy. Muslim ideals of self-respect and social change have inspired some of the greatest emcees, and hip-hop is giving voice to the dreams and daily struggles of a generation of Muslims. This cross-pollination between Islam and hip-hop is vividly illustrated in a new documentary, New Muslim Cool, which premieres tonight on PBS.

Directed by veteran filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, New Muslim Cool chronicles three years in the life of Hamza “Jason” Perez, a Puerto Rican Muslim, family man, emcee, interfaith prison chaplain and social activist. Continue reading Hip Hopping the Ummah →

Sufi Soul

Film and Video, Islam: Introduction, Morocco, Music and Dance, Pakistan, Sufism, Syria, Teaching Resources, Turkey, YouTube Watch

Cyberspace is increasingly crowded with videos, the virtual youtubization of the internet. This is especially the case for documentaries. Youtube has a wide range of videos on Islam, from professional films to homemade khutbas and television reruns. The diversity of Muslim practice is available, as is the worse Islamophobia, with just a click of the mouse and a wifi point. This ease of access is also convenient for professors, who can often find relevant video excerpts to power point into their lectures. Of the numerous videos out there, here is one well worth watching: Sufi Soul – The Mystic Music of Islam, a 50-minute film directed by Simon Broughton for Channel 4 in the U.K. To watch it, click here.

Here is a brief description of the film: Continue reading Sufi Soul →

Down the wrong chimney

Film and Video, Iraq, Teaching Resources


Classroom scene from “Santa Claus in Baghdad.” The book in the professor’s hand is a red velvet volume on Kahlil Gibran, published in 1984. In the film it contains an inscription from the professor’s professor dated 1949. Mixing dates is not the only cinematic sin of this problematic “educational” film.

Last week I received an email as an “educator” about a new, award-winning short feature film called Santa Claus in Baghdad. The announcement came from the filmmaker, an Egyptian named Raouf Zaki, who provided a free preview on a website called vimeo.com. The film is based on a short story of the same name, now part of a series of short stories for young adults by author Elsa Marston. I must admit that I found the title a bit strange, so I decided to look at the preview Tuesday night. But, as the old Christmas song expresses so well, “When, what to my wondering eyes should appear?” A turkey; nothing to give thanks for in battling stereotypes of Iraqis. I realize that the film intended to humanize Arab children, but it tells an emotional “what a great kid” story unrelated to the realities of living in Iraq. Iraqi children, including the thousands who died during Saddam’s regime and during the American occupation, deserve better. Continue reading Down the wrong chimney →

Turkey’s Hero, Behind the Bronze Veneer

Film and Video, Turkey


“Mustafa,” a documentary about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, is filmed in Istanbul.

Turkey’s Hero, Behind the Bronze Veneer
By SABRINA TAVERNISE, Istanbul Journal, The New York Times, November 13, 2008

ISTANBUL — After nearly a century of looking serious, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, has started to smile.

Ataturk — a war-hero-turned-statesman who defended Turkey during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire — is the subject of what is perhaps the world’s longest personality cult.

His portrait hangs in every tea shop, government office and classroom. Insulting his memory is a crime under Turkish law. And every Nov. 10, Turkey observes a moment of silence to commemorate his death in 1938.

But the ironclad official version might be softening. Last month a documentary on Ataturk was released that looks at his human side. That might not sound like much, but in a country where official history is kept under lock and key, the film, “Mustafa,” was a brave endeavor. Continue reading Turkey’s Hero, Behind the Bronze Veneer →

Showcasing Palestinian cinema

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Film and Video, Israel, Palestine


Jackie Reem Salloum, the director of Slingshot Hip Hop, wants to encourage Palestinians to tell their stories through artistic expression.

Showcasing Palestinian cinema
By Deena Douara, Al-Jazeera, October 29, 2008

On the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival comes another motion picture fete about a people trying to carve out a state in a war-torn region.

From October 25 to November 1, Toronto will showcase 36 films about the Palestinians as part of year-long commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’, or catastrophe.

Kole Kilibarda, one of the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF) organisers, believes audiences will be surprised by “the amazing cinema produced even under the most difficult of circumstances”.

The TPFF will include Canadian, North American, and world premieres of award-winning documentaries, features and short films.

Palestinian films have gained prominence on the international scene in recent years, beginning with the enigmatic Divine Intervention (2002) and the controversial Oscar-nominated Paradise Now (2005). Continue reading Showcasing Palestinian cinema →

Obsession isn’t a perfume

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Election 2008, Film and Video, Islamophobia, Terrorism Issue

by Adam Shatz, London Review of Books, 9 October, 2008

If you live in an American swing state you may have received a copy of ‘Obsession’ in your Sunday paper. ‘Obsession’ isn’t a perfume: it’s a documentary about ‘radical Islam’s war against the West’. In the last two weeks of September, 28 million copies of the film were enclosed as an advertising supplement in 74 newspapers, including the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education. ‘The threat of Radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today,’ the sleeve announces. ‘It’s our responsibility to ensure we can make an informed vote in November.’ The Clarion Fund, the supplement’s sponsor, doesn’t explicitly endorse McCain, so as not to jeopardise its tax-exempt status, but the message is clear enough, and its circulation just happened to coincide with Obama’s leap in the polls.

The Clarion Fund is a front for neoconservative and Israeli pressure groups. Continue reading Obsession isn’t a perfume →

Anti-Obsession Medicine

Election 2008, Film and Video, Islamophobia, Journalism and Media

[As reported in an earlier post, the Islamophobic pseudo-documentary ‘Obsession’ has recently been sent out in key states on behalf of the Palin/McCain/Lieberman campaign. Now there is a website devoted to debunking the film’s prejudicial claims and slanted propaganda. This is called Obsession with Hate, a project of the “Hate Hurts America” campaign. See the website for details, but here is an excerpt…]

What is ‘Obsession’?

Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West is a 2005 anti-Muslim propaganda film put together by controversial anti-Muslim figures to further the perceived divide between Western and Muslim audiences. 28 million copies of the DVD were recently distributed by a mysteriously-funded entity by the name of the Clarion Fund with the help of 70 US newspapers in a curious and unprecedented campaign. This large distribution, particularly given it was targeted to swing states in the current elections cycle, piqued the interest of many, especially civil rights watchdogs.

Why is ‘Obsession’ a hate film, can we deny that radical violent Muslims exist? Continue reading Anti-Obsession Medicine →