A movie in the new low budget Sundance 2010 NEXT category, Bilal's Stand is a low-budget movie that was 4 years in the making. I had the chance to sit down with the director, Sultan Sharrief, writer and director of the movie, and producer Claudette J Stern.

Writer Tanzila Ahmed is at Sundance, America’s premiere festival of indie flicks, held yearly on the snowbound streets of Park City, Utah. From her home base at the Taqwacore house (peopled with those who produced the film of the novel being shown there and the bands that soundtrack it), Ahmed will bring us a daily dose of indie celeb news. Learn more about her and her work here. And read her past blogs here.

In the new low budget Sundance 2010 NEXT category, Bilal’s Stand is a low-budget movie that was 4 years in the making. I had the chance to sit down with the director, Sultan Sharrief, writer and director of the movie, and producer Claudette J Stern.

The movie is about an American Muslim kid growing up in Detroit supporting the family’s taxi business and his struggle to get into college. His path, oddly, leads him to ice sculpturing. It was Sultan Sharrief’s directorial debut and the story is based on his own personal life. Four years in the making, the movie kept running out of money and went through extensive re-editing processes.

Not very polished looking, the film’s quality reminds me of an after-school special. But the story is an important addition to the collection of films of the American Muslim experience. Just as important to this movie is the community youth involvement to the development of this movie. The film was made as part of the Student EFEX Project (“Encouraging the Filmmaking Experience”), a partnership between local artists, students from the University of Michigan, and metro Detroit high school students.

I get the feeling this movie may bypass the big screen but I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets released on DVD and tied with a curriculum. If you are a teacher, I’d totally recommend this movie for your classroom.

2/5 Stars

Check out the trailer below:

Official Bilal’s stand trailer from Beyond blue production on Vimeo.