On October 11, the SVA Theatre in Manhattan will host the inaugural New York Muslim Film Festival (NYMFF), an event positioned as a direct challenge to the narrow, often stereotypical portrayals of Muslims that have long dominated Western media landscapes. By providing a dedicated platform for Muslim creators to share their own narratives, the festival aims to dismantle the flattened archetypes that have historically permeated global cinema and television.
The festival is not merely intended to provide a reactive platform or a series of counter-narratives to existing biases. According to Hassan Babar, the festival’s artistic director, the ambition is far more foundational. "These stories should not merely serve as counter-narratives," Babar stated. "They should be the establishing paradigm." This philosophy underscores the festival’s commitment to shifting the gaze of the industry, moving away from stories that define Muslims solely in relation to external conflict and toward those that explore the breadth and complexity of the human experience through a Muslim lens.
A Diverse Showcase of Global Storytelling
The one-day event is set to be a dense and vibrant showcase, featuring 12 short films sourced from seven different countries. The curation reflects a broad spectrum of genres, spanning documentaries, dramas, comedies, animation, and experimental works. Notably, the program highlights the work of female filmmakers, who make up the majority of the directors represented in the festival’s lineup.
Nawal Mubin, the festival’s co-founder and director, emphasizes that the necessity of the event is rooted in the fundamental right of storytellers to occupy space on their own terms. "This festival exists because those stories deserve a stage in this city, not on the margins of someone else’s," Mubin said.
The day’s schedule is designed to facilitate both professional networking and cinematic appreciation. It will commence with a reception for participating filmmakers and invited industry guests. The screenings will be divided into two blocks, each containing six films and running approximately an hour in length. These sessions will lead into the highly anticipated jury announcement and awards ceremony, where the creative output of these filmmakers will be formally recognized.
A Distinguished Jury Panel
To ensure the festival maintains a high standard of critical engagement, the organizers have assembled a six-member jury panel comprised of seasoned industry professionals. The panel is headlined by Emmy Award winner Aasif Mandvi, widely recognized for his tenure as a correspondent on "The Daily Show" and his compelling performance in the Paramount+ series "Evil."
Mandvi is joined by a cohort of accomplished figures who bring a wealth of experience in production, direction, and acquisitions:
- Darine Hotait: An Arab-American writer-director and the founder of Cinephilia Productions, whose shorts have been featured on major platforms including HBO, AMC, SundanceTV, and the BBC.
- Munir Atalla: A former creative executive at Netflix and the current head of production and acquisitions at Watermelon Pictures.
- Abubakar Khan: A producer whose recent work includes the critically acclaimed "The Glassworker," which serves as Pakistan’s entry for the 2024 Academy Awards, and "Mustache," the winner of the 2023 SXSW Audience Award.
- Sarah Mokh: A Lebanese-American filmmaker and Sundance Feature Film Fellow who has recently completed her first feature, "The Alchemy of Being Okay," a project produced by Khan.
- Abubakr Ali: An Egyptian-American actor with an impressive slate of upcoming projects, including roles in Bassam Tariq’s "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" alongside Mahershala Ali, and Sean Durkin’s A24 film "Deep Cuts." Ali has also appeared in Kathryn Bigelow’s "A House of Dynamite."
The festival has also secured strategic support from various industry partners, including the Islamic Scholarship Fund, the New York-based production and post-production house Lost in Space, and Aneesa Talks, a platform founded by filmmaker Aneesa Khan to foster the development of South Asian and Muslim creatives. Furthermore, the streaming platform Watermelon+ has launched the Watermelon+ Discovery Award. The winner of this prize will grant the platform an exclusive, time-limited licensing agreement, offering the selected filmmaker significant exposure to a wider audience.
Exploring the Human Condition Through Film
The films selected for the program demonstrate a profound range in tone and subject matter, proving that the Muslim experience is as varied as the global population itself.
In the realm of documentary, Justin Mashouf’s "$17.74" offers a poignant look at a former gang member who has been incarcerated since the 1980s. The film captures the viral ripple effect caused by his solitary gesture of solidarity for Gaza from within prison walls.
The narrative features also delve into complex familial and societal dynamics. Karim Emara’s "Baba Is Melting," a Qatar-U.S. collaboration, uses a comedic-drama structure to explore a son’s confrontation with his father regarding a secret second marriage, all while the father waits in his car for Friday prayers in Doha. Similarly, Zaid Ahmed Hassan’s "Ghusl" follows a son tasked with learning traditional Islamic burial rites at the behest of his dying father, grounding the narrative in grief and duty.
The experimental and animated entries further push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. Basma Khalifa’s "Henna" is a U.K.-based experimental work that interweaves the life cycle of the henna plant with the experiences of women across 16 African and SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) nations. Sima Naseem’s "My Friend in the Jingle Truck," a Canada-Pakistan production, utilizes a blend of stop-motion and 2D animation to recount the tale of a young girl in Karachi who encounters a magical bird.
The festival also features narratives that tackle the intersections of childhood, tradition, and identity. Alex Aljouni’s "Bukra" follows a young Syrian refugee who is determined to secure a soccer ball—won in a sweepstakes—in time for one final match with a best friend before a permanent separation. Negine Jasmine Sekandari and Ayda Rojhantalab’s comedy "Haram Salami" examines the friction between three generations of Afghan women as they navigate the tension between personal desire and cultural expectation. Maram Taibah’s Saudi fantasy "Malika" employs magical realism to explore a young girl’s relationship with her grandmother and the pressure to balance innate curiosity with the demands of obedience.
Other notable films include Bilal Shams Khan’s "Sabr O Shukar," which focuses on a 10-year-old boy in Pakistan learning the virtues of patience and gratitude while pursuing a dream. Imran J. Khan’s "The Boy With Dinosaur Head" tells the story of a troubled child who identifies as a dinosaur and his life-altering encounter with a teacher, while the Canadian comedy "Unqualified," directed by Ilhan Abdullahi and Sherry Rashidan, centers on a Muslim employee tasked with spiritually cleansing a workplace lunchroom rumored to be haunted. Rounding out the program is "Ya Hanouni," a French drama by Lyna Tadount and Sofian Chouaib, which explores the sudden upending of a young couple’s life during a lighthearted competition to hear their baby’s first word.
The organization behind this inaugural event is led by a dedicated team of professionals who are deeply embedded in the industry. The festival’s programming is co-headed by Toronto-based actor and producer Hassan Babar and Aneesa Khan, who also serves as the head of communications. The festival itself was co-founded by New York-based director and producer Nawal Mubin and filmmaker Giuseppe de Matteis, a post-production specialist. Both Mubin and de Matteis bring their expertise from their work at Lost in Space, ensuring the logistical and artistic integrity of this new addition to New York’s cultural calendar.
