An Act of Worship is a counter-narrative told from the perspective of the Muslim American community. The film’s impact campaign aims to extend the idea of the film to allow Muslim viewers to create personal counter-narratives and begin healing from the negative impacts of Islamophobic culture, policy and rhetoric.
The film’s impact campaign consists of free screenings, to allow Muslim Americans to see their story on screen in community, along with a series of free workshops!

Storytelling workshops aim to help viewers see their story through a lens of joy and resilience rather than trauma. Healing circles after film screenings will help viewers heal from their own incidents of Islamophobia. Workshops focused on building a community archive will allow community members to understand each other’s experiences, and empower them to be the creators of their own stories.

The campaign has already begun, and you can find up to date information on the film’s website: www.anactofworship.com/screenings. We have fundraised to bring the film to 10 communities in the next six months, but we would like to continue the screenings and workshops through the summer of 2022, your contribution to our campaign will help us achieve that goal!

BIOS

Nausheen Dadabhoy (Director), is a Pakistani-American director and cinematographer whose work spans fiction and documentary. THE GROUND BENEATH THEIR FEET — her directorial debut following two Pakistani women who were paralyzed after an earthquake — premiered at IDFA in the first appearance competition. Her second feature, AN ACT OF WORSHIP, recounts the last 30 years of Muslim-American history through the collective memory of the community. The film premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, and will broadcast on POV on October 17, 2022. As a cinematographer she has lensed an Oscar nominated live action short film and an Emmy winning feature documentary. Her films have screened at festivals worldwide including Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca, Locarno and have appeared on Netflix, Hulu, HBO and PBS. Nausheen has been a Film Independent Project:Involve Fellow, Berlin Talents participant, Firelight Fellow, Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator Lab Fellow, Soros Equality Fellow and she is currently a Pillars Artist Fellow.

Aber Kawas (Documentary Participant & Impact Producer): Aber Kawas is a Palestinian-American community organizer from Brooklyn New York. She has been working with the Arab and Muslim communities in New York City around policy issues such as immigration reform, unlawful policing and surveillance, as well as advocating against Islamophobia. Aber served as the NYC Advocacy Specialist with the Campaign to Take on Hate under the National Network of Arab American communities, transitioning from her position as Advocacy Director at the Arab American Association of NY. Currently, she has relocated to Johannesburg South Africa to complete an MA focused on Islamic Liberation Theology.

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