Global Muslim Film Festival Awards for 2020
We had over 500 people from around the world take part in our audience awards voting for the Global Muslim Film Festival short films competition. We also put together an amazing jury from around the world to vote for
Best Feature & Short Documentary
Best Narrative Film Feature & Short
Best Director Feature & Short
Best Music Video Short Film
Social Impact Feature & Short Awards
Spiritual Impact Feature & Short Awards
Our jury for 2020 included the world-renowned filmmakers - Nia Malika Dixon, Ovidio Salazar, Mustafa Davis, Haroon Sellers, Abrar Hussein, Reynaldo Escoto and Ala' Khan.
A few notes on the global diversity of the films we featured this year. Inshallah (God willing) we can do even better next year.
85% of the films in the Global Muslim Film Festival were directed by people of color.
We featured films from 17 countries and we gave awards to films from 10 countries
6 of the 19 awards went to Female filmmakers
8 of the 19 awards went to Black American filmmakers
21 of the 32 films and discussions featured filmmakers based in the United States or Americans living as expatriates in different parts of the world.
Ummah Film Vision Legacy Award - Yasmin Ahmad
Audience Awards
Audience Awards - Feature Films
The Dagestan Chronicles - Directed by Will Harris
A Love Supreme - Directed by Preacher Moss
On the Ropes (Turkey / United States) - Produced by Al Madina Studios - Directed by Muhammad Davis, Abdullah Davis and Ibrahim Souadda
Would you leave behind what you love most for the sake of Allah? On The Ropes tells the story of Abdullah Davis - a young kickboxer - who leaves behind his passion in pursuit of a greater future.
Dear Beloved (United States) - Directed by Tariq Toure
Dear beloved is Tariq Toure's cinematic poem inspired by Imam Al-Ghazali's brief treatise and beginner's text Ya Ayuhal Walad. In it, Toure aligns the dangers of the untamed ego and the ramifications of the terror it can rain down on ourselves and those around us.
Feature Film Awards
Best Documentary - Feature - Wajd - Songs of Separation (Canada / Syria)
Inspired by the traditional sacred music of Syria, filmmaker Amar Chebib travelled to Damascus and Aleppo in 2010. Six months later the revolution began, escalating into a bloody civil war and the largest humanitarian crisis of our time. Touched by the harrowing experiences of the friends he made, Wajd transformed into the stories of three musicians turned refugees.
Watch our discussion with the filmmaker Amar Chebib here.
Best Director - Feature - Ovidio Salazar l Taha Abdurrahmane - Philosopher of Renewal (Morocco / Spain)
Best known for his philosophical thought concerning logic, philosophy of language and the philosophy of morality, the contemporary Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman, is one of the most prominent and original thinkers in the Arab-Islamic world today. This intimate film portrait charts his intellectual evolution from his early education as a student within a traditional madrasah setting and his subsequent development as he goes on to study under the leading Western philosophers at the prestigious Sorbonne during the tumultuous events of the 1960s. The film offers a glimpse of the transformative effect his spiritual journey has had on his worldview while amplifying the extent to which such historical Muslim philosophers as Ibn Rushd, Ghazali and Ibn 'Arabi have influenced him. He then shares his reflections on his efforts in revivifying an Islamic philosophy of ethics to help Muslims in overcoming the challenges posed by the modern world.
Watch our conversation with the director Ovidio Salazar here.
Spiritual Impact Award - Feature l Unexpected Muslims - Somos Musalmanes (Mexico / France)
In the misty mountains of San Cristobal de Las Casas, sheltered under improvised houses, lives a small Muslim community of Tzotzils, an ethnic group descended from the Maya. But what are their story? In the midst of the Zapatista revolution, a movement fighting for the emancipation of indigenous peoples, a group of Sufi Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula traveled to Mexico, in the Chiapas region, with the idea that Islam would strengthen the movement's revolutionary spirit. The commander Marcos did not embrace this idea, but during their discussions, several chiefs from Tzotzil families converted to Islam and changed the destiny of their people.
Social Impact Award - Feature l The Honest Struggle Directed by Justin Mashouf (United States)
Winner - Best Film Festival Discussion - Hind Makki
Short Film Awards
Best Documentary - Produced by Al Madina Studios - Directed by Muhammad Davis, Abdullah Davis and Ibrahim Souadda
Best Narrative Short Film - Emergency Contact (Canada) - Directed by Omran Omaid
Best Director - Short Film - Ala’ Khan & Reynaldo Escoto - A Prayer Beyond Borders
Best Music Video
QAD BADA (Withdrawal into the Perception of the Essence) - Directed by Muhammad McCabe (United States)
The music video for “QAD BADA (Withdrawal into the Perception of the Essence)” is set in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and follows Hakim and his son Kareem’s journey to Dar al-Islam, an adobe mosque in the mountains of Abiquiu. It commemorates Hakim and speaks to the universal message of unconditional love and dedication. About Hakim: Hakim Archuletta has worked in the healing arts for over three decades, and has helped countless individuals in the global Muslim community and beyond. Hakim has been the sole caretaker of his adult disabled son Kareem, and this music video highlights his love and devotion. Recently, Hakim’s wheelchair accessible van was totaled, and, as Hakim’s close friends, 7STATIONS put together a successful fundraising campaign on LaunchGood, which raised over $25,000.
