MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival is back for its 9th year. The first screening will begin at 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening at the Oriental Theatre.
The four-day film festival will showcase themes surrounding culture, identity, and faith. There will also be a post-screening discussion that delves into “the complexity of Muslim experiences from around the world.”
TMJ4’s Sydni Eure spoke with Janan Najee, the Executive Director of the Milwaukee Women’s Coalition and founder of the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival. Najee said she’s looking forward to opening night.
“I hope it just, you know, opens eyes and makes people more curious,” said Najee. “I think that we’re always enriched when we learn different things, especially about a variety of different cultures. So, we tried to bring in different films, not just from here in the United States but around the world. It’s always greater to always learn about different perspectives.”
The MWC will also be celebrating its 30th year of service. Najee said there will be plenty of things to look forward to this year thanks to some re-branding efforts.
“We never really imaged where it could go and now we have so many different programs, we have tremendous numbers of employees, we’re well-known, we’re a go-to for information and resources so it’s really exciting,” said Najee.
Najee says a new name, logo, and website that better reflects the organization's regional impact will all be unveiled.
Watch: Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival kicks off Thursday night.
“We started out at the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition and our work has really become state-wide so now we are dropping the ‘Milwaukee’ from our name and becoming the Muslim Women’s Coalition,” said Najee. “So, we are definitely rebranding as we are expanding our physical footstep. So, we will be expanding into the other half of the building in 2025. Our logo has changed, we’re doing a lot of interesting things including a marketing campaign which will include billboards, etcetera. Just to help people know that we’re changing, we’re moving on up, so to speak.”
The festival will run from October 17th through 20th. For more information about the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival and how to purchase tickets, click here.
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