A Global Celebration of Muslim Film - 40 Films from 15 Countries with 26 Live Programs

Over the last six years, there has been a global phenomenon unfolding. A historical television series about the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Ertuğrul Gazi (1191-1281), has spread around the world. Broadcast in 76 countries on television in countless languages, on Netflix, and most recently nearly breaking a record on YouTube as the show was dubbed into Urdu and became one of the fastest-growing YouTube channels of all time. The question for companies like Netflix and YouTube is if they understand what this all means?

A show rooted in the shared values of faith, family, and the tradition of Islam in the midst of global Islamophobia has found a home across global Muslim diasporic communities. With the power of this show, and many similar historical dramas, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has grown to become the second-largest global broadcasting network after the BBC. Historically film and television markets are tied to the distribution and advertising markets that are divided up by countries. Of course, global, and regional streaming platforms have upended these markets, but we still don’t see Muslim specific sections on the streaming platforms the way we see Christian film categories. Nor are the streamers picking up most of the big-budget Islamic dramas being produced in Qatar, Iran, and Turkey like the $53 million dollar budget “Omar” series.

While global film networks like the African and African American film markets have found champions with the likes of Ava Duvernay’s Array Studios, and the Christian film market has produced films making hundreds of millions of dollars. The global Muslim film market is more complicated because of it’s truly global diasporic nature. Over the last twenty years, Hollywood has produced primarily, two types of content with Muslim characters, on one side is Islamophobic content, and the other places Muslims within the values system of Western liberalism. For an excellent overview of this, see Maytha Alhassan’s Haqq & Hollywood report with the Pop Culture Collab.

These narratives are beginning to shift with the emergence of Muslim filmmakers around the world, and the data feedback from global streaming platforms like the Disney owned streaming platform, Hulu, which is releasing the second season of it’s Golden Globe-winning show Ramy this week after the Eid holiday. Even though the star of the show, Ramy Youssef, has made clear that his show isn’t the best place to learn about Islam. There has also been the emergence of the Muslim oriented streaming platform, Alchemiya which now features more than 300 films and television series, and has experienced good growth since launching its Amazon Prime channel. While these are good starts, we need more evangelists of Muslim film working across the diverse markets from Hollywood, to Bollywood, to Nollywood, and Southeast Asian film markets with distributors and dealmakers focused on global Muslim storytelling and the data that proves the market.

The Global Muslim Film Festival

The Center for Global Muslim Life’s first film festival, the Global Muslim Virtual Eid Film Festival is designed to be a champion of the growing global Muslim film industry. It is also designed to show the shifting narratives of Muslims in film from around the world. Featuring more than 40 films from 15 countries with 26 global live conversations with filmmakers, actors, and film producers. The festival features powerful films ranging from award-winning films like Yasmin Ahmad’s film Muallaf (The Convert) to the documentary series about one of the most famous athletes in the world, Khabib Nurmagomedov, to the hidden Indonesian and Malaysian loves stories on Netflix.

The film festival will take place over five weekends (Thursday to Sunday) with opening night on May 29th, and closing night on June 28th. Check out our website for more information on the festival and please donate to the Center for Global Muslim Life to keep programming like this going.

Muallaf (The Convert) - Malaysia - Narrative Film - 84 minutes - Director, Yasmin Ahmed - Program with stars of the film - Sharifah Amani, Sharifah Aleysha, Brian Yap and Yeo Yan Yan

Yasmin Ahmed (1958-2009) was a filmmaker beloved throughout Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Her films dealt with important issues of faith, diversity, and belongingness within Malaysia, the world’s most diverse Muslim majority country. We are dedicating our opening night to these ideas that we share with Yasmin Ahmed at the Center for Global Muslim Life. We will screen one of her last films, Muallaf, to be followed by a discussion with the film cast.

Muallaf" tells the story of two Malay sisters, 20-year-old Rohani (Sharifah Amani) and 14-year-old Rohana (Sharifah Aleysha) who are on the run from their wealthy, abusive father. Finding refuge in a small town, they meet Brian (Brian Yap), a 30-year-old Catholic school teacher who finds himself irresistibly drawn to the sisters and their extraordinary courage. This relationship inevitably forces Robert to confront a haunting memory of his own troubled childhood.

Qawwali - Music of the Mystics - 200 minutes - 2020 - Program with film clips and the director and star of the film Tahir Qawwal

Follow the unique journey of the only Western-born Qawwali ensemble, Fana Fi Allah, as they travel between India & Pakistan for 20 years to learn from the Grand Masters. Serving as a bridge for greater understanding and connection, this documentary series offers a comprehensive and artistic view into the history of Qawwali music. The film represents twenty years of filmmaking, culminating in the ultimate Qawwali documentary series with three hours of carefully curated, never before published material.

The Anatomy of a Fighter - The Dagestan Chronicles - USA - 2019 - Documentary - 37 Minutes - Screening and Q&A with the Director, Will Harris -

In 2018, literally overnight, Khabib Nurmagomedov became one of the most famous athletes in the world. After his defeat of Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Khabib went from being a relatively unknown mixed martial artist to becoming the most famous Muslim athlete in the world. Before the UFC grew into a global sport there was a lone filmmaker following the MMA athletes creating intimate portraits of the lives of the fighters outside the cage. In 2019 this director, Will Harris was asked by Khabib to take his series, “Anatomy of a Fighter” to Dagestan, Russia to tell the real story of few have seen of the culture created for fighters in his homeland.

The Global Muslim Film Festival - Full Schedule

May 29th - 7 pm - Muallaf (The Convert) Screening with Cast - Directed by Yasmin Ahmed (Malaysia)

May 30th - 8 pm - Music of the Mystics - The Qawali Documentary Series - Screening with Tahir Qawwal (Pakistan)

May 31 - 1 pm - The Dagestan Chronicles with Khabib Nurmagovedov - The Anatomy of a Fighter - Screening and Conversation with Director Will Harris - Hosted by Baraka Blue (Dagestan)

June 4 - 7 pm - From Mahmoud Abdul Rauf to Colin Kaepernick - “The Dawns Early Light: Chris Jackson’s Journey to Islam” with the Director Dr. Zareena Grewal (United States)

June 5 - 7 pm - The Jedi Sufis? Islamic Themes in Star Wars, Black Panther, and Dune with Dr. Hussein Rashid (United States)

June 6 - 1 pm - Ramadan Digital Media Awards Ceremony with Special Guests from Around the World

June 7 - 1 pm - Resurrection: Ertuğrul - One of the Most Popular Television Shows in History & the Global Muslim Diasporas that made it Possible (Turkey) Panel Discussion with Riyaad Minty hosted by Hind Makki

June 11 - The Honest Struggle with Director Justin Mashouf and Cast (United States)

June 12 - Muslim Dramas on Netflix? Ajaibnya Cinta Screening with Erma Fatima and Cast (Malaysia)

June 13 - The Making of Lissa - A Story of Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution with Sherine Hamdy (Egypt & US)

June 13 - Hannah Al Rashid - On Film, Silat, Activism, and the Women’s March in Indonesia - (Indonesia)

June 14 - Finding Fatima (UK)

June 14 - Films from Palestine with Dr. Hatem Bazian and Farah Nabulsi (Palestine)

June 18 - Spirituality in Film with Navid Akhtar and Dustin Craun

June 19 - Tahir Abdurrahmane - Philosopher of Renewal with the director Olvidio Salazar (Morocco)

June 19 - Global Muslim Music Videos from Hip Hop to Reggae with Altimet, Debu, and Ras Muhamad (Malaysia, Indonesia, US)

June 20 - Mustafa Davis and Global Muslim Convert Narratives (United States)

June 20 - Lena Khan - From the Tiger Hunter to Flora & Ulysses on Disney+ (United States)

June 21 - Wajd - Songs of Separation with Director and Cast (Syria / Canada)

June 26 - Somos Musalmanes - Islam in Chiapas - Unexpected Muslims (Mexico)

June 27 - Global Muslim Refugee Short Films

June 28 - The State of Muslims in Film from Hollywood, to Bollywood, Nollywood, and Indonesia

June 28 - Short Films from Throughout the Ummah - Closing Night Short Films Competition & Awards

June 28 - Closing Night - Radical Film & the Muslim International with Sohail Daulatzai and Special Guests