Parvez Sharma
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Parvez Sharma is an Indian film director. He is best known for the film A Jihad for Love, on gay and lesbian Muslims.
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[edit] Personal life
Sharma was born and raised in India. He has been educated in India, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Parvez studied English Literature at Presidency College of the University of Calcutta. He received his master's degrees in Mass Communication (Film and Television) from Jamia Millia Islamia University, Broadcast Journalism from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and Video from American University's School of Communication. He currently lives in New York.
Sharma identifies as gay and as Muslim.[1]
[edit] Work
A journalist, Sharma has worked with numerous media, including radio[2], print, and broadcast.
He has worked with award-winning filmmakers and on programming for BBC World Television (India), the Discovery Channel (United States), and the World Bank (United States).
[edit] A Jihad for Love
Sharma is best known for directing the film A Jihad for Love, a documentary that seeks to refute the belief that LGBT Muslims do not exist.[3] The film has also been known by the working title In the Name of Allah.[4]
Sharma, director and cinematographer of the film, came up with the idea after listening to the stories of gay Muslims when he attended American University. He decided to give a voice "to a community that really needed to be heard, and that until now hadn’t been. It was about going where the silence was strongest." [5]
The film's website describes the film:
| “ | Filmed in twelve different countries and in nine languages, In the Name of Allah [working title] is the first-ever feature-length documentary to explore the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality. With unprecedented access and depth, gay Muslim filmmaker Parvez Sharma brings to light the hidden lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Muslims and goes where the silence has been loudest in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh, as well as in Turkey, France, India, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom. [3] | ” |
The film premieres in early 2007. Sandi Simcha DuBowski, the filmmaker behind Trembling Before G-d, a documentary investigating the lives of homosexual Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, is the producer of A Jihad for Love. The film is produced in association with Channel 4 Television (UK), ZDF (Germany), Arte (France), MTV-Logo (US) and SBS (Australia).
While the film reveals homophobia and persecution in the Muslim world, Sharma has stated that the purpose of the film is not to vilify Islam. Instead, he said:
| “ | The Islam that this film is seeking to reclaim is rich, it is pulsating, it's welcoming, condemning sometimes, it's loving, it's erotic, it's sensual, it's poetic and it's musical. [6] | ” |
Producer DuBowski aims for the film to be a "profound catalyst for change."[6]
[edit] Work on Islam and homosexuality
The upcoming film is not Parvez's first work dealing with Islam and homosexuality. His piece "Emerging from the Shadows" for The Telegraph in India was the country's first major newspaper article to discuss the life of Indian lesbians.[5]
Sharma has written for The Huffington Post as an authority on issues concerning Islam and homosexuality.
He was involved in the organization of the first organized LGBT effort in the state of West Bengal and has spoken internationally on LGBT issues in a South Asian context.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Director of Film on Muslim Homosexuals Frets over His Subjects' Safety
- A Jihad for Love
- Parvez bio
- Film of Muslim gays stirs up sentiments
- Queer and Present Danger (mp3), with Kathleen Mullen, Gretchen Hildebran, Malcolm Ingram and Parvez Sharma
- Parvez Sharma Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
[edit] References
- ^ Hays, Matthew. "Act of Faith: A Film on Gays and Islam", The New York Times, 2 November, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-02-05. (English)
- ^ The Democracy Now! Staff Talks About the Blackout of 2003. Democracy Now! (2003-15-08). Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
- ^ a b In the Name of Allah. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ A Jihad for Love
- ^ a b Rajan, Sujeet. "Film of Muslim gays stirs up sentiments", Indian Express, 10 March 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-08. (English)
- ^ a b Dettman, Katie. "Benefit held for gay Islam film", Bay Area Reporter, 19 October, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-05. (English)
