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Muslim Film Festival coming to Fremont theater
Oakland Tribune, May 29, 2006 by Jonathan Jones, STAFF WRITER
FREMONT -- Muslim snowboarders, gender divisions at mosques, praying etiquette at American restaurants, and a hajj pilgrimage are some of the themes to be showcased at this years Muslim Film Festival, an all-day event that comes to Naz 8 Cinema in Fremont on July 29.
By basing the festival in Fremont, Juveria Aleem, a Concord resident in her early 30s and the main organizer of the festival, said she hopes to reach the local Muslim community and reach out to friends of other faiths.
Weve got a lot of great films, Aleem said. Now we need large numbers of people to come out.
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Aleem conceived of the film festival in 1998, while learning filmmaking at University of California, Berkeley, where she produced a 20-minute documentary on why Muslim women wear the hijab, the traditional Islamic head scarf.
I felt I needed to do something that explained my identity, recalled Aleem, who wore a pink hijab during an interview Saturday at Central Park. A lot of my friends were wearing the hijab, and a lot of high school (Muslim girls) were starting to wear the hijab. So it was a good time to explore the issue.
After the documentary was accepted at film festivals, broadcast on local cable television stations and discussed at local schools, Aleem said she became convinced a Muslim film festival could help shine more light on the fabric of modern Muslim life.
Thats when I really understood the power of producing one documentary could be used as a way of educating the public at large, Aleem said. When I started screening my own film, we would talk about the film after it ended. Thats when I really got the bug and said, I can really make a difference with this.'"
But it wasnt until after Sept. 11, 2001, that Aleem collected movies from independent Muslim filmmakers to showcase their work under one roof.
As soon as (9/11) happened, I was terrified to go to work because I was afraid of how my colleagues would treat me, Aleem said. When that happened, I said, OK, this is the right time. I really needed to do something really dramatic out there because there were so many negative images (of Muslims) in the media.
After holding the first festival at UC Berkeley and at De Anza College in Cupertino in 1994 -- showing 10 films ranging from Islamic hip-hop to spoofs of Muslim stereotypes -- Aleem said she saw firsthand the importance of encouraging cultural expression of
independent Muslim filmmakers in a post-9/11 environment.
This year, Aleem hopes the festival provides an opportunity for non-Muslims to come and actually learn what our culture is about.
We have comedies and heart-warming stories, Aleem said. Its not going to be a preachy film festival and just focus on religion or praying or the hijab or Ramadan. Its none of that. Its about basic human stories that everyone can relate to -- except that the characters happen to be Muslim.
For more information on the film festival, log on to http:// www.mffusa.org or call (4087) 480-0144.
Jonathan Jones covers ethnic, religious and cultural issues. He can be reached at (510) 353-7005, or jjones@angnewspapers-
.com.
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