Muslim film festival champions new narratives

Journalism alum Hirra Farooqi co-founded the Muslim International Film Festival (MIFF) in 2020, with the objective of creating a platform celebrating Muslim excellence in film and empowering Muslim filmmakers to tell their stories on screen. 

MIFF is an international platform and event that connects Muslim filmmakers, actors, producers and other creatives all over the globe is a showcase of diverse voices, stories and dreams brought to life.

“We essentially want to be a stepping stone for other Muslims around the world in the industry,” Farooqi said. “We want to not only showcase their skills, but also connect them to the right industries and the right people so that we can see Muslims telling their own stories on screen.”

This year, MIFF was sponsored by the City of Toronto and screened 16 films featuring a variety of storylines, including their special feature film: Riz Ahmed’s award-winning film Mogul Mowgli. They had 500 attendees at their outdoor drive-in event at Ontario Place. 

Making the cut: from inspiration to reality

The idea for MIFF originally came to Farooqi while she was a journalism student at Ryerson in 2016. While at work, she shared an idea with a friend and GCM alumni, Rafay Malik who is now the director of marketing at MIFF, about the need for a platform to showcase Muslims in arts and film, a conversation that lasted about two hours over her shift.

As an aspiring filmmaker herself, Farooqi interned for a documentary production called The Secret Marathon, which led her to attending numerous film festivals across the Greater Toronto Area. Farooqi felt particularly inspired while at the Zonta Film Festival in Waterloo with MIFF co-founder Obaid Ullah. The festival focuses on female filmmakers and producers, and was the experience Farooqi credits with inciting her to making MIFF a reality.

“We just loved the environment and the way they were celebrating female influence in film,” she said. “We just realized, ‘why haven't we seen one of these for Muslims?’. In the car [on the way home], we decided to Google and see if there is a such thing as a Muslim International Film Festival and we noticed that the name wasn't taken. We made the Facebook and Instagram pages in the car on the spot.”  

A student leader turned CEO

During her time as an undergraduate student, Farooqi took on a variety of student leadership roles at the university. Her experience as a student leader coupled with access to university resources encouraged her to take the leap required to create MIFF. 

“I feel like Ryerson is genuinely a school that builds student leaders and gives them the access and opportunities to be able to be a leader in and outside of school. There are so many resources that you can reach out to within the school itself to make an event happen,” she said. “Ryerson culture is very supportive of student ideas and initiatives.”

For Farooqi, it was her journalism degree that sparked her interest in filmmaking and led her to join a documentary company in her final year of the program, as part of an internship course requirement.

“[The journalism program] is the reason I got into documentary filmmaking and that basically shaped the film side of things for MIFF,” she said. “For the actual event execution side of things, my time at Ryerson as a student leader is what led me to be able to take that step and to feel confident in taking that step as well.”

To keep up with MIFF and their upcoming events, follow them on social media (external link, opens in new window)  and take a look at their website (external link, opens in new window) .

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