Image via Angry Reader
Last year, one woman came on the radar of movie-watchers across the globe with her debut film, The Tiger Hunter. Dubbed Hollywood’s first hijabi filmmaker, Lena Khan was able to make her first film a reality without any Hollywood connections and against all odds, using a Kickstarter campaign where she rallied the communities she belonged to be able to write, direct, and produce The Tiger Hunter. Now, the California native is back with a new project, a series entitled The Secret Life of Muslims, which uses humor and empathy to subvert stereotypes and reveal the truth about American Muslims.
From fascinating careers, to surprising talents, to inspiring accomplishments, The Secret Life Of Muslims has been described as a series that provides a counter narrative to the rampant Islamophobia prevalent in media today. The executive producer of the series, Joshua Seftel, spoke about the importance of the project at the 27th annual Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Hollywood Bureau Media Awards, saying that the secret in The Secret Life of Muslims is that “we’re all just people.”
According to Hollywood Reporter, Geldof, who received a standing ovation for his work as a philanthropist and political activist at the event, said about the series: “I identify as human [Muslim-Americans] are people — not because of shared faith, not because they wave the same flag of nationhood or common community, but rather common humanity.”
After graduating from film school at UCLA, Khan decided she wanted to create a comedy film about a young Indian man who comes to America in search of success. Khan explained that the film’s story is based on the experiences of her own parents, saying that stories she grew up hearing from her parents and other immigrants were hilarious, which made her want to turn them into a fictional film.
