Allies Supporting Muslim Storytellers

After news of Trump’s Muslim ban reverberated across the nation, a Jewish Filmmaker and group of allies came up with the idea of raising money to support American Muslim filmmakers as a way to stand up to the anger and fear-based oppression this community is facing. 

A large community quickly rallied around the idea, partnering with the Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) which mission is to increase American Muslim representation in media and politics by empowering students through academic scholarships, film grants, congressional internships and youth workshops.

The funds collected  from this campaign will be given directly to artists in order to increase and support Muslim stories and allow them to reach a greater audience. We are doing this because we want to give the American Muslim community a stronger a voice. We hope that you can be involved in telling these stories.

Update: Stretch Goal: $50,000

The Muslim Ban 2.0 is out, and we're upping our goal to $50,000. The world needs more stories from Muslims to address misinformation and bigotry.

This new goal will allow us to give larger grants to many more filmmakers (we have over 100 applications) and also put at least $10k into the Islamic Scholarship Fund's yearly grant, which supports Muslim filmmakers in the long term.

Donations will go directly to storytellers, providing tremendous leverage and turning your money into media.

Please share and tell the world!

Hearing directly from marginalized people creates empathy

Our country needs empathy. Search YouTube for American Muslim stories and scroll through news reports and negative videos. The stories of joy and struggle and triumph and love need to be yet told. 

A dollar spent on video is one of the most powerful ways to make an impact on the world. For several hundred to several thousand dollars, a video can be created that reaches millions of people. And these videos can change minds and hearts.

Supporting these voices will bring them into peoples' homes and keep their perspective in America's minds. It will also provide recipients with the encouragement to keep telling their stories because people are listening.

Film Grant Recipients

Sahar Jahani

Film: Grey Matter
Grey Matter is a short film about an Iranian-American Muslim family in crisis and the choices they are forced to make in a moment of tragedy. 

Li Lu

Film: A Town Called Victoria: Being Muslim in Texas
When their local mosque is burned to the ground on the night of President Trump’s travel ban,the small town of Victoria, TX, defies expectations by rallying around their Muslim neighbors and showing the world what it truly means to be an American. 

Muhammed Fazeel

Film: M Plus
Showcasing the diversity of Muslims through similarities with the broader community.

Akram Shibly

Film: Behind the Door
As the war in Syria rages on, a Syrian-American family living in the United States for a quarter of a century comes face to face with its refugees who are Waiting at the Door to peace, freedom and prosperity. From their vantage point Behind the Door, they re-discover the true meaning of home through heartbreak as the world struggles to give hope for their country folk.

Evan Carter

Film: The Voice Behind the Counter
Yemeni bodega owners shut down their stores on February 2nd to voice their vehement opposition to the Muslim Ban. The city's bodegas enrich and give life to the NYC community, yet the story of the people behind the counter is rarely told. 

Amir Safi

Film: American Muslim Video Cypher
American Muslims are diverse and our stories are complex. Recognizing that one voice or story cannot encapsulate this many people, our goal will be to host cyphers, where we invite Muslims from all over the country to come share their voices, going one after another sharing poetry and stories till our batteries die or we run out of people.

Judges

We are thrilled to announce a panel of judges comprised of award-winning directors, journalists, artists, and activists.

Read more about our judges here.