Co-Presented with Slamdance & Museum of the Moving Image
Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM) works to disrupt inequity in the film industry by nurturing, amplifying, and investing in the creative capacity and professional success of our members.
The term “MENASA” (Middle East, North African, and South Asian) encompasses a wide diversity of cultures, loosely linked by the idea that the people of these regions are perceived as practicing or having a significant proximity to the practice of Islam. Yet the films exploring this identity that reach audiences in the West are too often limited in depth and range, relying on centuries-old narratives that exoticize, or are solely interested, in Muslim and Arab people as the victims or perpetrators of violence.
The Infinite Beauty series, curated by BGDM Director of Grants Farihah Zaman, launched in October 22nd at the Museum of the Moving Image as a way of bringing more nuanced depictions of MENASA life into the light. From the beginning the series has featured films that depict queer MENASA people, from BGDM member Rita Baghdadi’s Sirens, to the Breaking Fast, a rom-com set during one fateful Ramadan in Los Angeles.
This pride month, however, BGDM is Infinite Beauty is presenting an all-queer Muslim documentary extravaganza in conjunction with the Slamdance virtual platform, June 22nd to July 7th, presented with MoMI and centering the work of BGDM members.
Register at https://slamdancechannel.com/register using promo code infinitebeauty to get $3 off your monthly subscription.