Taqwacore (film)

Taqwacore
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Omar Majeed
Produced by	EyeSteelFilm Mila Aung-Thwin Daniel Cross
Written by	David Oliveras
Starring	Michael Muhammad Knight The Kominas Al Thawra Vote Hezbollah Secret Trial Five
Music by	Omar Waqar
Cinematography	Mark Ellam Zachary Dylan Fay
Edited by	Maxime Chalifoux Omar Majeed
Distributed by	EyeSteelFilm
Release dates	19 October 2009 (2009-10-19)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam is a 2009 documentary film, directed by Omar Majeed and produced by EyeSteelFilm, about various Taqwacore bands and performers touring the United States and Pakistan. The documentary was filmed between 2007 and 2009.

Appearances

Many individuals are featured in the documentary, including:

Michael Muhammad Knight, author of 2003 novel The Taqwacores about punk Islam where he imagined a community of Muslim radicals: mohawked Sufis, riot grrrls in burqas with band patches, skinhead Shi’as etc. Knight is American convert to Islam who joins the band in their tour.
The Kominas, a Pakistani punk band from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. Members:
- Basim Usmani (bass and vocals)
- Shahjehan Khan (guitar and vocals)
- Arjun Ray (guitar and vocals)
- Imran Malik (drums)
Al-Thawra, heavy metal Arab band from Chicago featuring Marwan
Diacritical
Vote Hezbollah, fronted by Kourosh, an Iranian from San Antonio
Secret Trial Five an all-female Canadian punk rock band fronted by Sena, a Pakistani lesbian from Vancouver

Synopsis

The Pakistani punkers The Kominas have arrived at the last stop of their first USA tour and are celebrating with tourmates. Also appearing are the author Michael Muhammad Knight (The Taqwacores), Koroush (Vote Hezbollah), Sena (Secret Trial Five) and Marwan (Al-Thawra). They incite a riot of young hijabi girls at ISNA, the largest Muslim gathering in North America, after Sena takes the stage.

The film then travels with Knight to Pakistan, where his friends (in a new band named after Noble Drew Ali) bring punk to the streets of Lahore and elsewhere in the region. Michael also begins to reconcile his fundamentalist past with the rebel he has now become.

Festivals

Vancouver International Film Festival, world premiere
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Montreal, Quebec premiere
Sheffield Doc/Fest, European premiere
Theatrical release October 19, 2009
Festival International du Film Indépendant, Lille, France, winner of the Silver Butterfly prize, 2011

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam.

EyeSteelFilm

Founders	Daniel Cross Mila Aung-Thwin

Directors	Tony Asimakopoulos Mila Aung-Thwin Laura Bari Richard Boyce Yung Chang Daniel Cross Mia Donovan Eric "Roach" Denis Lixin Fan Brett Gaylor Mitchell Kezin Omar Majeed Ryan Mullins Halima Ouardiri

Documentaries	The Street: A Film with the Homeless (1997) Too Colourful for the League (2001) S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic (2001) Music for a Blue Train (2002) Bone (2002) RoachTrip (2003) Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive (2004) Chairman George (2005) Punk the Vote! (2006) Up the Yangtze (2007) RiP!: A Remix Manifesto (2008) Antoine (2008) Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam (2009) Last Train Home (2009) The Frog Princes (2010) The Vanishing Spring Light (2011) Inside Lara Roxx (2011) China Heavyweight (2012) Fortunate Son (2012) The Fruit Hunters (2012)

Shorts	The Colony (2007) Ali Shan (2008)

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