Islamic Studies

Islamic Studies

AFGHAN DREAMERS
AFGHAN DREAMERS
In Afghanistan, an all-girl robotics team risk everything to prove they can build a name for themselves in the world. Working in secret under the Taliban regime and in a male-dominated cultural environment, the girls encounter enormous challenges. With exceptional access, Afghan Dreamers tells an insprirational story about an extraodinarily brave group of young women.
BROTHERHOOD
BROTHERHOOD
Jabir, Usama and Useir, are three young Bosnian brothers, who grew up in the shadow of their father, a strict Islamist preacher. When he gets sentenced to two years in prison, for terrorism, the three brothers are suddenly left alone. They can explore the newly acquired freedom on the difficult journey to becoming men. Brotherhood is an exploration of youth, manhood and search for identity.
THE RETURN: LIFE AFTER ISIS
THE RETURN: LIFE AFTER ISIS
This moving documentary offers an intimate yet candid portrait of a group of Western women who devoted their young lives to ISIS, but who now want to be given the chance to rebuild their lives back at home, including Shamima Begum (UK) and Hoda Muthana (US), who made worldwide headlines when they left their countries as teenagers to join ISIS. These women now tell their stories for the very first time in this "stirring and vitally humane" (Variety) film.
A LIFE TOO SHORT
A LIFE TOO SHORT
A Life Too Short is an exceptional documentary that examines the tragedy behind the killing of Pakistani women’s rights activist and social media star, Qandeel Baloch. Qandeel challenged conventional ideas with her open exclamations of women’s equality and agency.
HAMTRAMCK, USA
HAMTRAMCK, USA
An incisive documentary exploring life and democracy in America's first Muslim majority city. The film follows Kamal Rahman, a Bangladeshi candidate for Mayor, Fadel al-Marsoumi, a 23 year old Iraqi immigrant for City Council, and the current mayor, Karen Majewski, Hamtramck’s first female mayor. Through the exploration of the city's rich history and this heated election, Hamtramck, USA wrestles with identity politics, power dynamics, and the immigrant experience in America.
FILMFARSI
FILMFARSI
Action, melodrama, car chases, lurid affairs, and flashy musical numbers! They all figured into Iran's pre-1979 cinema known as “filmfarsi.” Featuring a treasure trove of incredible movie clips (painstakingly sourced from surviving VHS tapes) and accompanied by fascinating social commentary, Filmfarsi explores this cinematic period as a mirror for the country during those turbulent times.
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT
A stirring and beautiful documentary from Academy Award nominated director James Longley (Iraq in Fragments), Angels Are Made of Light traces the lives of young students and their teachers at a school in the old city of Kabul. Interweaving the modern history of Afghanistan with present-day portraits, the film offers an intimate and nuanced vision of a society living in the shadow of war.
THE BROKER
THE BROKER
A tragicomic glimpse inside a traditional Iranian dating agency, The Broker introduces us to Mrs. Sadri and her cadre of female employees who are determined to find their clients a husband, at all costs. The documentary offers an acute reminder that the fiercest agents of the patriarchy aren't always men.
AVA
AVA
When her overprotective mother questions her relationship with a boy — going so far as to visit a gynecologist — Ava, fomery a model student, begins to rebel against her parents, her school, and the society at large. Based on her own experiences, Sadaf Foroughi’s gripping debut explores what its like for a young girl’s coming of age in a strict, traditional society.
ONE DAY IN ALEPPO
ONE DAY IN ALEPPO
Inspired by questions that followed screenings of Sundance winner Last Men in Aleppo, this short documentary (produced by Last Men director Feras Fayyad) is a portrait of ordinary people's lives as they try to live through a normal day in the besieged city of Aleppo.
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO
2018 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad’s breathtaking work – a searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage – follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets; ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes in the hope of saving lives.
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
An exploration of recent social and political upheavals across the Middle East, The Dream of Shahrazad contextualizes these events within a broader historical and cultural legacy by drawing on the famous collection of stories known as “The Arabian Nights."
MIMOSAS
MIMOSAS
Winner of the Critics Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Oliver Laxe’s stunning new film, Mimosas, is a breathtakingly-shot Western that follows a mysterious caravan transporting a dying sheikh into the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.
A MAGICAL SUBSTANCE FLOWS INTO ME
A MAGICAL SUBSTANCE FLOWS INTO ME
Drawing on the work of German-Jewish ethnomusicologist Robert Lachmann (1892-1939), filmmaker Jumana Manna sets out in search of the musical diversity of historical Palestine in this magical documentary.
ORIENTED
ORIENTED
An exceptional, inspirational documentary about three gay Palestinian friends in Tel Aviv who form a non-violent group to fight for gender and national equality.
DAUGHTERS OF ANATOLIA
DAUGHTERS OF ANATOLIA
A singular portrait of a nomadic goat herding family whose livelihood and traditions are being threatened by an increasingly urbanized world.