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Though the term “Islamophobia” may seem of relatively recent vernacular vintage, such sentiments have been aggressively popularized — and politicized — for over three decades in the American consciousness. Nausheen Dadabhoy’s “An Act of Worship” chronicles that trend and its impact on Muslims in the U.S., while focusing on several individual activists combatting related discrimination, hate crimes and related woes.

This Tribeca-premiering documentary provides a gracefully crafted, persuasive portrait of communities demonized for the acts of an extremist (and mostly overseas) minority with whom they share a religious identity, but little ideology. Those looking for more insight into those ideological differences, or an informative general introduction to our nation’s Muslim populations, may be frustrated by “Worship’s” near-exclusive emphasis on personal stories. Its PSA-like tenor will, however, nicely fit the bill for broadcasters seeking accessible content affirming values of diversity and tolerance.

The Pakistani American director bookends her sophomore...

Nausheen Dadabhoy’s documentary “An Act of Worship” has lofty ambitions, collapsing over 40 years of Muslim American history into 82 minutes. It is not, however, a linear informational relay, so , in an attempt to paint a multifaceted portrait of the pain caused by systems of bigotry and abuse. For the most part, it succeeds, even if its artistic highpoints — its transformative use of home videos — are rarely matched by its contemporary chronicles and re-enactments.

Framing its interviews as long-overdue confessionals, the film strings together a timeline of the pre-9/11 era, before the world’s biggest flashpoint for Islamophobia, but the image it paints is far from rosy; racist assumptions about American Muslims didn’t suddenly spring from the ground in 2001. Dadabhoy collects a handful personal family histories, contextualizing them along a timeline of several major landmarks — the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, the Oklahoma bombing of 1995, the election of Donald Trump, and...

This week the team at BAMcinemaFest has given a platform to an incredible collection of innovative films from around the world. But what do these short, documentary and scripted narrative directors do when they aren’t showcasing their films at a festival? How do they make a living when they aren’t busy making personal films? IndieWire asked the 2019 BAMcinemaFest directors that exact question.

Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli (“So Pretty”): Editor and colorist for commercial and independent film and video. I moonlight as a German live-subtitler for unsubtitled 35mm prints at art houses around the city.

Ben Berman (“The Amazing Johnathan Documentary”): What I do when I’m not making films is mainly question what I do for a living. So at least we’re on the same page about that. I’ve directed and edited some comedy tv shows: “Tim and Eric,” “Lady Dynamite,” “Man Seeking Woman,...

 

Cinema Lounge Roundtable: An Interview with the Filmmakers - October 2010 

In many ways a short film can be a greater challenge than a feature simply due to the fact that, in a short, every moment counts.  Each month we are committed to bringing you collection of diverse, impactful, and entertaining shorts and this month's line up is no different.  This month's stories from an old man's daily pilgrimage, a middle-aged man's foray into the "viral video" craze, and the discovery of what happens after love, to a modern re-telling of Jean Paul Sartre's short story, an encounter with an important stranger, and charismatic drag queen's unfortunate one-night stand. This month filmmakers Jonathan Ade, J.J. Adler, Kent Hayward, Ben Garchar, Brandon Auman, Pierre Ferriere, and Lena Waithe discuss their films and the process of getting them made. 

   By Folayo Lasaki

 Image from Meditations: Man in Water

 

Introductions first...names and projects,...