Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival offers free showings of The Wisconsin Muslim Project and Gaza Fights for Freedom

The Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival, Oct. 19-22, presents films from around the globe that are timely and relevant that aim to generate meaningful discussion about Muslims and the Muslim world.

The 8th annual Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival opens Thursday as media coverage worldwide focuses intensely on the War on Gaza and a rise in Islamophobia sparks hate crimes, including the brutal murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy Saturday in a Chicago suburb.

In this atmosphere, the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival aims to foster understanding and conversation, with two films so important to these times that festival organizers have decided to offer free entry to them: The Wisconsin Muslim Project and Gaza Fights for Freedom.

Panel discussions with producers, directors and/or experts accompany each of the festival’s eight films, which will run Oct. 19 – 22 at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee. See the festival line-up, register for free showings and purchase tickets here. Tickets are also available at the door.

“We realize a lot of people don’t personally know Muslims and don’t have knowledge about what is happening in the Middle East beyond what they see on the news,” said Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival founder Janan Najeeb. “We want people to know about the issues going on and to have an opportunity to discuss them.”

New this year, Middle Eastern food items are offered before each film. “The Muslim tradition of hospitality requires food to be served to visitors to one’s home,” Najeeb explained. “Once we have eaten together, we’re friends.”

Thursday’s opening night also features an immersive photo gallery of Milwaukee photographer Lila Aryan’s intimate look inside the contemporary lives of 15 Muslim Wisconsinites and families and live music by Salaam Band, classically trained Iraqi-American violinist Dena El Saffer and her husband and percussionist Tim Moore. See bios of the musicians here.

PBS Wisconsin Director of Television Jon Miskowski

The Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition launched the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival in 2015. Two years ago, it joined in a collaboration with Milwaukee Film, a nonprofit film organization that hosts the annual Milwaukee Film Festival and provides year-round educational and cultural enrichment. Greater Milwaukee Foundation is the presenting sponsor.

Opening Night features Wisconsin Muslims

The Wisconsin Muslim Project, PBS Wisconsin’s special episode of Wisconsin Life, opens the festival Thursday evening. It “breaks stereotypes and helps educate people about Wisconsin Muslims who are making a difference in their communities,” PBS executive producer Trevor Keller said today in an interview with Wisconsin Muslim Journal. Keller manages the team that produces Wisconsin Life. He produced one of the segments in The Wisconsin Muslim Project.

Following the film, a talkback will feature Jon Miskowski, PBS Wisconsin’s director of television. He leads the six-station PBS Wisconsin network.

“What we do with Wisconsin Life is tell the stories of people in our state who are doing great things,” Keller said. “We applied this approach to The Wisconsin Muslim Project, a special episode of Wisconsin Life that features Muslims around the state.”

Keller produced a segment of The Wisconsin Muslim Project that focused on the work of the Milwaukee Islamic Dawah Center and interviewed its executive director, Will Perry. “Learning about what that center is doing to address food insecurity in Milwaukee with its food pantry and the work they do with the Ibrahim House to help people coming out of incarceration to get their footing as they re-enter society is incredibly moving and powerful. The center is making a huge difference in people’s lives.”

The PBS Wisconsin special is part of the larger Wisconsin Muslim Project, a collaboration between PBS Wisconsin and two Wisconsin-based partner organizations: Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition and We Are Many – United Against Hate. The multi-faceted project also includes an animated biography of Mahmoud Atta, a key figure in the building of Milwaukee’s Muslim community, with accompanying educational materials for third-sixth grade students and educators.

Trevor Keller, executive producer of “Wisconsin Life” for PBS Wisconsin

“Both of our partner organizations have a deep knowledge of communities across the state,” Keller said. “They helped us find stories we otherwise might not find and guided us in telling authentic stories. They were so valuable to this project.”

Keller said he hopes people who see the documentary on opening night will “ be entertained and feel more educated as they learn more about the communities they live in.

“We wanted to showcase the diversity of Muslims in our state and you’ll see it in the variety of storytelling. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done and I’m excited for people to see it.”

Understanding Gaza

Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival offers a free showing of Gaza Fights for Freedom, a documentary by journalist Abby Martin about a series of protests held in 2018 by Palestinians in Gaza called the “Great March of Return.”

Factual America calls Gaza Fights for Freedom “an unbiased and extensive look” at the historical context and key players behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. It is “a well-researched and insightful documentary … that provides audiences with a comprehensive understanding of the factors and individuals that shaped the events of the Great March of Return.”

“The documentary uses a combination of interviews with Palestinian civilians, medical professionals and journalists, as well as footage from the protests themselves,” the blog says. “This allows the viewer to fully grasp the impact of the Israeli response on the daily lives of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The film highlights the resilience and determination of the Palestinian people, despite facing severe challenges.

“The use of extensive primary sources in Gaza Fights For Freedom adds to the film’s credibility. The filmmakers made a conscious effort to present the unfiltered stories of the people directly involved in the conflict.

“This approach to storytelling allows the viewer to form their own opinions and perspectives on the Israel-Palestine conflict, without the influence of biased narratives often found in mainstream media reporting.”