Deepa A
The poster is deceptively simple.
The poster is deceptively simple: a hijab that looks as if it were wrapped around someone who is invisible. It is an image that challenges stereotypes about Muslim women, raising the pertinent point: do you see her or her faith? It is one of the questions that the Cineforum, to be held on March 30 in London, seeks to answer.
Organized as part of the London Documentary Festival at the Royal Society of Arts, the first ever Cineforum brings together a diverse and exciting range of events under one roof, with one goal at heart: the advancement of Muslim women, whose voices are seldom heard in mainstream society.
On the Agenda
The Cineforum's schedule features screenings of award-winning films, debates and discussions, leadership workshops and one-to-one mentoring. While the forum is open to everyone, the organizers hope it will encourage Muslim women to take on leadership roles and equip them with the skills and networks necessary to "inspire action for change on a global level."
Cineforum director and social entrepreneur Jobeda Ali has explained the motivation for the event thus in a press release: "Inspired women leaders are going to be vital in the coming years, we need to find women with vision and passion. Hopefully our Cineforum will help uncover them or even help them discover themselves." Ali believes that leaders are created by meeting great leaders, and it is this meeting that the Cineforum facilitates.
The Cineforum offers six leadership workshops on creating influence and impact; media presentation skills; the power of Public Relations; the rise of social media; image and presentation; and Islam the liberator of women. Each of these workshops will be held by experts who have excelled in their fields.
Films and Conversations
An important element of the Cineforum will be the films and documentaries screened during the event. James Parr, Cineforum’s marketing director, says these films reflect the five values of the event: Leaders make leaders, Fair Knowledge, Peace, Integration and Representation.
In keeping with this theme is the film Lady Kul El Arab, which explores the struggles of an Arab girl and her family as she tries to become a model in Israel. This film is to be followed by a discussion on 'Appearance and Perception.' Why do the clothes we wear decide how others perceive us? This and other questions are expected to come up during an interactive debate.
A short musical to be screened is Lady Light, a magical tale starring and sung by the opera singer and composer Hiba Al-Kawas. The film I Wish/Muslims in the Media will be followed by a conversation on 'Getting ahead in the media,' where a filmmaker, a journalist and an author will share their stories. Questions that will be raised and addressed include those centered on building the right connections and pitfalls to avoid.
The award-winning Pray the Devil Back to Hell is also to be screened at the Cineforum. It narrates the amazing story of how a small group of Christian and Muslim women in Liberia came together in the middle of a civil war to take on warlords and win peace for their country in 2003. This narrative, which weaves together a series of interviews, archival images and scenes from present-day Liberia, will be followed by a discussion on women as peace-makers. According to the press release, among the questions that the panel will seek to answer will be the role of women in "combating the violent extremism perpetrated in the name of Islam."
The film Thorns and Silk, on four women in Palestine who have taken up jobs considered to be solely in the male domain, will also be screened at the Cineforum.
The Leaders
The speakers at the Cineforum are pioneers in their own right. They include Academy Award nominated director Gini Reticker, broadcaster and pollster Carole Stone, Hiba Al-Kawas and equal rights activist Imam Dr Taj Hargey.
The facilitators, who will be interviewing the speakers through the day, include broadcast journalist Rani Singh, lawyer and journalist Rehna Azim, broadcaster Nabila Pathan, broadcaster and presenter Jayne Beaumont and documentary filmmaker Ruhi Hamid.
Mosaic Mentoring, the Prince of Wales' charity, will also be hosting 80 mentoring slots at the event. This will give aspiring leaders a chance to get advice and guidance from 20 high-achieving mentors on media, society, business and personal growth.
An Exciting Opportunity
For aspiring filmmakers, the Cineforum has a 'Documentary Pitch Panel,' wherein they will be coached on how to pitch a film. Ten applicants will get a chance to do this for real in front of commissioning editors from the BBC, Current TV, Film Shorts Channel and Channel 4. There will also be a live video link-up with pitching gurus John Storey and Ken Rotcop.
Parr says that the reaction of Muslim women to the idea of the Cineforum has been "fantastic." "We really want to engage a wider audience as the Cineforum is all about sharing [various] points of view," he adds.
To register for the Cineforum, visit www.cineforum.co.uk.
Deepa A is an independent journalist. Her reports on education and the impact of communal violence have won the Developing Asia Journalism Awards and Every Human has Rights Media Awards. You can contact her via artculture AT iolteam DOT com.
Posted March 26, 2009, Islam Online
