"You never know why people like certain
things...you keep chipping away and hope the stars align and people
start responding."
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Iram Parveen Bilal embraces a key essence
of filmmaking that many young independent writers and directors miss -
that delicate balance of integrity for her stories, humility for the
art, respect for her audience and good old American hard work.
One of several projects
growing in her silver screen garden, "Forbidden
Steps" tells the story of a Muslim American
father coming to terms with his daughter's passion for dance. A finalist
for the 2010 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Mumbai's
Sankalan Screenwriting Lab in 2008, Bilal also works her story as a
member of 2010 Film Independent Director's Lab where she lays her story
in front of peers and mentors, chipping away. And already, people are
responding.
The motif of dance in film is a sure bet.
The possibilities for visual confection and a soundtrack to penetrate
directly into the audience's veins is almost cinematic cheating, but "Forbidden
Steps" is not the story of the dance, or even
the dancer, for that matter. Rather, dance brings to a head the internal
conflict faced by Majeed, father of an American teenager, son of a
conservative Muslim, and a liberal Muslim in America today. For this,
Bilal draws upon her experience with dance and her identity as a liberal
Muslim woman.
"Within the Muslim community, if you are
liberal, ... you get upset at people who hijack the name of your
religion and culture and music toward extreme factions because that's
not Islam. That's not how I was raised, that's not the Islam I know"
says Bilal.
Portraying the counter to popular media's
version of Islam is key to Bilal's vision in filmmaking. Other
seedlings in Bilal's garden, "Josh" and "Fadwa" also
challenge the image of Muslims in the eyes of the world. "Josh", is the
story of youth in Pakistan today. Based on a true story of a
soup-kitchen type canteen, and driven by its cosmopolitan setting, "Josh" is a
first hand look into the ambitious artists and dreamers of Karachi, and
city life for Muslim young adults. "Fadwa",
honored in script form by IFP's Emerging Narrative and a
semi-finalist for 2009 Nicholls Fellowship, explores a man forced to
commit honor killings, and explores the universal theme of peer pressure
in a context new to most of her audience. Again,
Bilal brings Muslim culture closer to Western society, showing the
parallels of human experience rather than the spectacle of extremists.
Bilal finds she's not
only taking on the task of changing the Western portrayal of Muslim
culture but faces resistance from more conservative Muslims. "You're
not only defending your faith to people that are not Muslim but you're
defending your faith to other Muslims who think in an extremist way. I
feel this Protestant/ Catholic like [struggle] in Islam now. It's the
age of the Protestant Muslim. "
While not overtly
political, the basic nature of Bilal's vision dances around many
political themes. "In a lot of little choices you make in filming, you
are incorporating politics. I could have a tendency to be very preachy
but I don't want to. I'll throw it on the page and then I'll pull it
back. Let the audience decide what they want to, but in order to really
get my feelings on the page I have to open all the doors of emotion and
rationale."
Keeping multiple projects active keeps
Bilal busy but keeps people talking. And in the independent film
community, attention begets attention. "It's interesting how when one
person stamps [approval] on your project, everyone else is willing to
take a look at it. You can be screaming for years, saying 'this is worth
your attention.' But there are so many people screaming how does your
scream stand out?"
With projects still in development
getting attention, awards and accolades, Bilal's screams are bound to
become cheers as the credits roll.
These are films in progress. For more information see:
www.thefilmjosh.com
www.iramparveenbilal.com
interview by Anjali Belmann
Anjali's Profile