Remember University of Michigan graduate, Sultan Sharrief? He was gracious enough to answer our interview questions back in April 2009.
Well, Sharrief certainly hasn't gone anywhere, anywhere but up that is. In less than two weeks the filmmaker's very own, Bilal's Stand, will be shown at the Sundance Festival.
Sharrief's film depicts a young, African-American Muslim in Detroit "who’s caught between his educational aspirations — to attend the University of Michigan — and his obligations regarding the family’s taxi stand."
This year's Sundance Film Festival will be held in Park City, Utah from January 21 to the 31st. Sharrief's movie is 1 of 8 others selected for Sundance’s new NEXT program. Sundance director John Cooper describes this new initiative as being “designed to cordon off space for low and no-budget filmmaking and is a showcase for 8 ‘younger, fresher’ American filmmakers that live and breathe true indie spirit.”
Bilal's Stand will be shown locally on Sunday, January 31, at 6 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. For those who have seen it before, you know it's worth seeing twice. And for those that will see it Sunday, get ready to laugh, cry, and reflect.
Leave your thoughts about the film and well wishes for Sultan Sharrief at the bottom of this article!
“If you’re a black Muslim in Metro Detroit, everyone has their own idea of what you are, I turn on the news, and they’re talking about my identity, but that’s not me, and it’s not most people like me. It’s like, no pun intended, someone’s hijacked your identity.” -Sultan Sharrief
