2008 Film Contest Grand Prize Finalist: The "C" in Allah
Eileen White
(Director, Writer, Producer, Camera) is an award-winning filmmaker,
whose films and videos have been exhibited in the metropolitan New York
area, most notably as part of the High Falls Film Festival, the
International Festival of Cinema & Technology, and the New
Filmmakers Series at Anthology Film Archives. Her film, "The 'C' in Allah" was named a finalist for the 60-second spot category.
Eileen describes the film, "The 'C' in Allah" is about someone I spent more time with from the ages of eight to eighteen than anyone else: Cecie Johansen of Platteville, Wisconsin. Best friends growing up, we lost touch after she moved with her husband, Jamal Akram, to the United Arab Emirates over twenty years ago. Inspired by world events as well as a desire to rekindle our friendship, we recently reconnected after all these years. Always quiet, unassuming, and decidedly Roman Catholic, Cecie is now someone many Americans fear: a devout Muslim. In 2008, I journeyed to the Emirates to see Cecie, or Sumaya as she now calls herself, for the first time in twenty-one years. How much does it matter that Cecie and I now have completely different beliefs about almost everything? Can our friendship survive these differences?”
