Intifada NYC
Screened with: Shanghai Bound, Sanza Hanza, Bus Lovers (Busólogos), Rapresent, My Amersham, The Last Pig (Ultimul porc), Intifada NYC, Helium, Life must inspire trust (Preciso que a vida inspire confiana), Close Your Eyes and Look At Me, Shooting Locations, Plane Days
14:00 Sunday 29 March 2009 at Roxy Bar & Screen
Tickets: £7
The box office has now closed for this film.
The United States’ first public Arabic language school opened in New York City to a firestorm of controversy. Leading the criticism was a group called Stop the Madrassa, who claimed the school would indoctrinate students with radical Islamic, anti-American and possibly even terrorist ideology.
The school’s principal, Debbie Almontaser, bore the brunt of the attacks, and when Stop the Madrassa were able loosely to link her with a T-shirt reading “Intifada NYC” she was forced to resign. But she refused to give up, and the film follows the story of the school itself, the debate it provoked about religious and ethnic tolerance, national identity and freedom of speech, and Almontaser’s fierce battle to get her job back.
A stunning original score combines American jazz with Middle Eastern influences while the film itself mixes interviews and footage with graphic novel-style drawings.
To read our interview with director David Teague, click here.
Director: David Teague
Country: USA
Length: 47 minutes
