Filmmaker Justin Mashouf was one of six filmmakers invited to the Diverse Muslim Voices Exchange, hosted by the Doris Duke Foundation of Islamic Arts and ITVS. He offered BTB this roundup of the Exchange, held April 3-5, 2012 in Hawaii. 

The Diverse Muslim Voices Exchange was held at the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art at Shangri-La.

Collaboration is the best teacher and earlier this month, my classroom was a recreated 17th century Mughal garden overlooking the crisp blue ocean in Honolulu. Life is tough. I was fortunate enough to be included among the six filmmakers working on Muslim themed documentaries invited to fly to out to Hawaii for a 3-day meeting of the minds at the Diverse Muslim Voices Exchange. The event was hosted by The Doris Duke Foundation of Islamic Art at Shangri-La, the residence of the late Ms. Duke, which houses one of the world’s most unique private collections of Islamic Art.

We were invited to workshop and pitch our stories to funders from Ford Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Black Public Media, and the Center for Asian American Media.  I had come to pitch a film I have been researching for four years about men who convert to Islam in prison and their journey transitioning out of incarceration. Continue reading →