The festival features a collection of films from across the Muslim world spotlighting "Think-Different Women."
The festival - co-sponsored by Boston University's Women's Studies Program, Americans for Informed Democracy, and AIC's campus initiative Project Nur - is part of the organization's on-going campaigns for women's equality and free expression. All screenings, held at local campuses, are free and open to the public.
"The festival is an opportunity to open our eyes to a stereotype-defying tour of the Muslim world's diversity and complexity," explains festival curator Mohammed Harba. "The collage of films we selected celebrates independent women on the frontlines of reform, challenging extremism and social taboos."
Highlight films from the festival include Mrs. President, produced by Boston University professor Shahla Haeri on a group of Iranian women who dared to register as presidential candidates, only to be banned by the Iran's Guardian Council of clerics. The Enemies of Happiness follows a young woman running for parliament in Afghanistan, pursuing her dream of political empowerment despite death threats and assassination attempts.
"The strong characters who populate the festival's award-winning films offer rarely-heard iconoclastic voices," observes Nasser Weddady, the American Islamic Congress' Civil Rights Outreach Director. "We hope that the film screenings become a civic event that can bring together Muslims and people of other faiths from across the Boston area."
The festival features the New England premier of the Mohamed Ismail's Adieu Meres (Goodbye Mothers), a dramatized look at Muslim-Jewish co-existence in 1960 Casablanca, as well as the Israeli-produced Shadya, a PBS documentary on a 17-year-old international karate champion who hails from the Galilee.
"We believe the festival will challenge and inspire Bostonians to see the Muslim world through a different lens," notes Weddady. "Hopefully it can also make a small contribution to harmony here at home."
For festival details, including screening information, visit http://www.muslimfilm.org/.
The American Islamic Congress 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.
Source: PRNewswire