The Mosquers film festival celebrates Muslim talent

A scene from the film Uncivilized being screened at The Mosquers Film Festival on Sept. 21, 2024, at Edmonton's Winspear Centre.

A local festival featuring short films directed by Arabs and Muslims at home and from around the world aims to creatively break down stereotypes and barriers the community faces.

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"The Mosquers Film Festival, in its 16th year as it grows more popular over time, sees hundreds of submissions from 20 countries," Sofia Alani, the co-chair of the film festival, told CTV News Edmonton.

She says they use The Mosquers – a name that comes from combining the words Mosque and Oscars – to break stereotypes and celebrate Muslim excellence in film.

"We weren't seeing a lot of Muslim folks being given opportunities in front of the camera, behind the camera, you know, writing scripts in writers rooms," Alani said.

"Seeing the need for good, nuanced representation on screen, and in all forms of media was, I think, something that people felt strongly about."

Six short films will be shown on Saturday at the Winspear Centre. A panel of judges and the audience will vote on a winner.

One of the films being screened is Uncivilized by Alberta filmmaker Rawd Almasoud, which he describes as dealing "with the double standards that refugees from different parts of the world face based on their skin color, race and religion."

The film follows the lives of four Syrian refugees in Calgary and how they're adapting to life in Canada.

It also looks at the difference in reporting when it came to Ukrainian refugees compared to those from Arab and African countries.

"One of the news reports that was used was saying that those refugees, the Ukrainians, are civilized, and so I took the word and made Uncivilized," Almasoud told CTV News Edmonton. "What about the other refugees from all parts of the world? Everyone has the right to find a safe place."

Almasoud knows what it is like moving to a new country. The native Syrian is now a Canadian citizen living in Calgary.

"Those conversations, the vocabulary that was used, were triggering, so I decided to pitch this film idea."