The first International Muslim Film Festival launched over the weekend in Perth and has been well received by audiences.
Over 60 entries including short films and documentaries are to be screened in September across Perth and Melbourne showcasing Muslim talent from across the world.
Festival founder Tarek Chamkhi told that “the festival's aim is to promote inclusion, tolerance, friendship and introduce Muslim society, culture and stories to as wide an audience as possible. Our festival was founded to support and promote Muslim filmmakers and content creators across the world."
"Our program will reflect the diversity and opportunities within Muslim communities in the West and all over the world, through the short film genre, and our goal is to show films that the audience would otherwise have not seen and leave a lasting impact," said Mr Chamkhi.
Fazal Subhani, a student of film at Edith Cowan University in Perth directed a short film ‘Overcoat’ which will be screened the festival.
The film is an adaptation of a story written by famous Pakistani novelist Ghulam Abbas.
While talking to Mr Subhani said that “[The film] follows this character who in reality is homeless, but hides his poverty under a fancy coat. So the story is told from the viewpoint of a homeless person and how they see the world.”
He is keen and excited to be provided with a stage to showcase his talent. Talking to he said that “There’s no other film festival like this anywhere in the world.”
“Muslims stories from around the world have been submitted to be showcased at the film festival,” said Mr Subhani.
“If you look at western cinema, they misrepresent our characters and our stories.
“As a filmmaker, this is a huge opportunity for me to make content which represents true stories on the big screen.” he further added.
There are seven awards to be won this year across different categories such as best drama, documentary, director, producer, actor, cinematography and script.
Kauthar Abdulalim, a Pakistani-Australian filmmaker, who has won numerous awards for her short film Found in festivals across the world is hopeful for another win.
“I hope the film does win, even if it doesn’t I think just having it screened alongside other films, which I am sure are amazing is an honour in itself.” Said Ms Abdulalim.
"Found" is an experimental film that tells the story of a Muslim woman affected during the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney.
Kauthar Abdulalim receiving an award from Ali Afzal on winning the short film competition at Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2018. Source: Facebook
Ms Abdulalim believes that festivals like these provide you community support and encourages emerging filmmakers.
“A lot of times we make stories that are about our communities. So when our community acknowledges and supports you, it gives you encouragement and validates the work that you do.” Ms Adbulalim told SBS Urdu.
“Festivals like these also encourage filmmaking within the Muslim community, because this is a profession which isn’t usually promoted within our communities.” she further added.
Screen-grab from the short film Found. Source: Supplied
Shejuti Hossain, a Bangladeshi-Australian filmmaker has cast Pakistani characters in her short film ‘Creed’ which is being screened at the festival.
“Creed is a story about a young boy, Nayel, who is optimistic about his abilities to perform at the soccer championships while observing Ramadan. Despite his expectations, he soon realised his coach and his soccer team are not on board. Nayel is forced to choose between his commitment to his faith and his love of his game.” Ms Hossain told SBS Urdu.
Ms Hossain wanted characters to be from a background close to her own origins. This was important to her as it brought more authenticity to the story.
“My culture and my family idiosyncrasies are represented in the film and I wouldn’t have been able to do that earnestly with another culture,” said Ms Hossain.
“Since the film is about family, faith and culture, I felt this was element was important.
“I chose Pakistani after speaking to the main actor, Oz Malik, about my story idea. He is Pakistani and he repeatedly stated that the story is akin to his own life. Upon consulting with him on the matter, I realised that the sense of duty to religion in Pakistani culture felt more pronounced to me than in my own Bangladeshi culture.” she further added. 
Creed short film official poster. Directed by Shejuti Hossain. Source: Supplied
