|
Produced by Version One Productions, Inc., "The Mosque in Morgantown" presents a chronicle of life in a West Virginia Muslim community as it struggles to define itself in a post-9/11 world. The documentary features author Asra Nomani, now co-director of the Pearl Project investigation at Georgetown University and a former Wall Street Journal reporter, as she pushes for change at her hometown mosque.
The catalyst for the story came with Nomani’s return to her West Virginia hometown of Morgantown following dramatic personal events. As a reporter working in Pakistan after September 11, 2001, she had faced a double shock: a surprise pregnancy and abandonment by the man she thought would be her husband, then the murder of her dear friend and fellow journalist Daniel Pearl at the hands of Muslim extremists.
Brittany Huckabee, the film’s producer, explained the decision to make the film: "The story in Morgantown is really about the dilemma of moderate Muslims, and that’s a story we don’t often see covered in the media. But it’s an absolutely critical part of the evolving saga of Islam in America, and at the same time I think it’s a story to which people of all faiths can relate. Hopefully this film can open a window for non-Muslims to understand what goes on inside the local mosque — and hold up a mirror for Muslims to reflect on their own experiences."
"The Mosque in Morgantown" is the final installment among a wide-array of twenty documentaries broadcast as part of the celebrated "America at a Crossroads" series. This initiative, created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and produced under the aegis of WETA Washington, D.C., was designed to create an in-depth, provocative series of films exploring the challenges confronting the world post-9/11.
The first 11 films in the series aired on PBS April 15-20, 2007, generating a strong audience response and critical acclaim, and ten additional specials have premiered since then. CPB developed the initial concept for "America at a Crossroads" in 2004 with an open call for film projects. More than 400 proposals were submitted from public television stations and independent documentary filmmakers around the world. In 2006, CPB named WETA the producing station to oversee all films throughout production.
Go to http://www.themosqueinmorgantown.com to see the preview.
Posted May 11, 2009
|
