The Halal Gap Mosquers Film Festival

On this edition of The Halal Gap, we bring you a very special episode: the panel discussion from our 2nd annual ‘Opening Credits’ event on October 13th, 2023. For the 2nd year in a row, the Mosquers Film Festival was kicked off with ‘Opening Credits’, an event where 300 Muslim creatives and representatives from organizations that seek to platform them came together. The panel, hosted by Sikandar Atiq, features Hoda Ali, Community Impact Coordinator at Toronto International Film Festival, ‘Mustache’ director and writer, Imran J. Khan, Kajsa Erickson, Manager of Telefilm Canada’s Talent Fund, and Emmy award-winning documentary producer, Lisa Valencia-Svensson.

Opening Credits would not have been possible without the support of our partners at Inspirit Foundation and Warner Brothers Discovery Access.

Co-Hosts: Sikandar Atiq @satiq31 and Sofia Alani @bambzz24
Panelists: Hoda Ali @thatgirlhoda, Kajsa Erickson @telefilm_canada, Lisa Valencia-Svensson, Imran J. Khan @imranjkhan
Producer: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Videographer: Yousuf Iqbal @yi_studios

Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:
https://www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?
https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/

Imran J. Khan joins us from LA! Imran talks to Sikandar and Sofia about his new feature film “Mustache,” a story about a 13 year old Pakistani American boy who struggles to accept himself after transferring from Islamic school to public school in the late 1990’s. Imran talks about authentically representing Muslims and tells us why he thought “Mustache” would never get made. Plus, he takes us behind the curtain on casting and directing young Brown actors, production design, and much, much, more!
Co-Hosts: Sikandar Atiq @satiq31 and Sofia Alani @bambzz24
Guest: Imran J. Khan @imranjkhan
Producer & YouTube Thumbnail: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Sound Editor: Vikram Chouhan @whitenoisetunes
Tile Art: Narmeen Saiyed @naarmz and Salman Mahmood @mr.salmanmahmood
The Mosquers return October 13-14, 2023! Submit your short film here: https://www.themosquers.com/submit.
Join our new Discord community for Muslim creatives here: https://discord.gg/fTJZxZfjUA.
Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:
https://www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?
https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/

Hassan Phills joins us live in Edmonton! Hassan talks to Sikandar about quitting basketball before his senior year to go all-in on comedy, the moment he realized Drake was following him on Instagram, and how he finessed his way into opening for Hasan Minhaj. Plus, we talk his early comedy influences, doing extra work, his vlogging days, and much, much, more!
Co-Hosts: Sikandar Atiq @satiq123 and Sofia Alani @bambzz24
Guest: Hassan Phills @hassanphills
Producer & YouTube Thumbnail: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Editor: Vikram Chouhan @whitenoisetunes
Tile Art: Narmeen Saiyed @naarmz and Salman Mahmood @mr.salmanmahmood
Production Assistant: Yonus Shaik @yonusshake
Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?
https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/

Amal Dalmar joins us from SoCal! Amal talks to Sofia about how she went from completing the thesis for her Masters in Law to working for BuzzFeed as a creative producer in a matter of a few days! We also get into “Dinner, Inshallah?”, the USHUB original docu-series she hosted which highlights Muslim American communities and their relationship with food. Plus, we talk about her chance encounter with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, We Are Lady Parts, One Tree Hill vs The O,C., and much, much, more!

Host: Sofia Alani @bambzz24
Guest: Amal Dalmar @itsamalworld
Producer & YouTube Thumbnail: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Sound Engineer: Vikram Chouhan @whitenoisetunes
Tile Art: Narmeen Saiyed @naarmz and Salman Mahmood @mr.salmanmahmood

Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:
www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?
https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/

Mohamed Ahmed aka Just Moe joins us live and in person in Edmonton! Moe chats with Sikandar about trying to connect to the work of his grandfather, famous Sudani poet Ismail Hassan. Then, Moe sheds light on his experience at theatre school, including some questionable casting decisions. We get into his music career and how his approach differs from acting. Plus, Moe and Sikandar chat about the Edmonton arts scene, Scottie Barnes, Donald Glover, and much, much, more!

Host: Sikandar Atiq @satiq31
Guest: Just Moe (Mohamed Ahmed) @iamjustmoe
Producer & YouTube Thumbnail: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Editor: Vikram Chouhan @whitenoisetunes
Researcher: Zaid Hassan @zaid.hass
Tile Art: Narmeen Saiyed @naarmz and Salman Mahmood @mr.salmanmahmood
Injured Reserve: Sofia Alani @bambzz24

Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:
www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/

Photographer Simrah Farrukh joins us from the Bay Area! Simrah chats with Sikandar and Sofia about her exhibit ‘The Brown Gaze’, shooting Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan for Netflix, and how Pakistani poetry influences her photography. Simrah also discusses taking a step back from Instagram, and how social media can be toxic for an artist. Plus, we get into Bratz dolls, networking advice, Rugrats, and much, much more!

Co-Hosts: Sikandar Atiq @satiq31 and Sofia Alani @bambzz24
Guest: Simrah Farrukh @simrahfarrukh
Producer & YouTube Thumbnail: Asif Quraishi @sifq
Editor: Vikram Chouhan @whitenoisetunes
Researcher: Zaid Hassan @zaid.hass
Tile Art: Narmeen Saiyed @naarmz and Salman Mahmood @mr.salmanmahmood

Follow our new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thehalal_gap. The Halal Gap is a Mosquers Film Festival production. Keep up to date with the Mosquers:www.themosquers.com
https://www.instagram.com/mosquersfilmfest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mosquersfilmfest?
https://twitter.com/themosquers
https://www.facebook.com/mosquersfilmfest/