Screen cap from An Act of Worship
Screen cap from An Act of Worship
An Act of Worship Screening with Director Dadabhoy

(released 10/27/2022)


An Act of Worship will screen Sunday, October 30, 2022 at the Bartos Screening Room located in the Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. Nausheen Dadabhoy the film's director will be in person for the 7:00 p.m. screening. An Act of Worship is a mirror to the director's own experiences as a Muslim American. It is through her prism of reflections the focus of the 21st century Muslim coming of age story is made. A humanist look, honoring the diversity of the Muslim community.

The film is screening as part of an ongoing series the Museum has curated with Guest Programmer: Farihah Zaman. INFINITE BEAUTY: MUSLIM AND MENASA IDENTITY ONSCREEN.

"MENASA (Middle East, North African, and South Asian) encompasses a wide diversity of cultures, loosely linked by the idea that the people of these regions are perceived as practicing or having a significant proximity to the practice of Islam. Yet the films exploring this identity that reach audiences in the West are too often limited in depth and range, relying on—and reifying—centuries-long narratives that exoticize, or are solely interested, in Muslim and Arab people as the victims or perpetrators of extremism and violence. Audiences have been underestimated for far too long, and deserve a taste of all the humor, heartbreak, nuance, and insight that films from Muslim cultures have brought to cinema. MENASA people deserve to see complex and realistic depictions of their communities celebrated—rather than work that others and divides.

Islamic teaching places a persistent emphasis on opening one's eyes to the beauty in the world, to the infinite array of life that earth miraculously contains. A discussion of when and how an outsider's lens can illuminate has never been more critical, and while not every film in this screening series is directed by a MENASA person, they all center MENASA identity and perspective. In this series, the Museum screens films that reflect the shared values and experiences across these regions even as they honor the specificity of the lands in which they are placed, whether Iran, Bangladesh, Mauritania, or the U.S."

Tickets are on sale and available for pick up at the Museum's admission desk upon arrival.  Please check the site for tickets and safety protocols before your visit here: movingimage.us


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