World renowned filmmaker Parvez Sharma visits Ohio University on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 13 and 14, to speak with students about the work he does in the LGBT Muslim world.
A Jihad for Love, a documentary dealing with the difficult themes of Islam and homosexuality in a post-Sept.-11 world and challenging many stereotypes around Islam, screens for free at the Athena on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m.
Parvez Sharma
Sharma’s newest film, A Sinner in Mecca, documents Sharma, a gay Muslim, embarking on the pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The film, which is only available in theaters in four select cities in the United States, screens at the Athena for free on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m.
His first feature, A Jihad for Love, which he directed and produced, is an international phenomenon, which had more than 8 million viewers in more than 50 nations within the first two year’s of its release. Utne Reader has named Sharma one of its “50 Visionaries who are Changing your World” in a list lead by the Dalai Lama.
Sharma has three master’s degrees and was educated in India, the United Kingdom and the United States and has been an adjunct professor at American University, developing and teaching that university’s first curriculum on Bollywood and other Indian cinemas.
He has been interviewed for, quoted and profiled in various high profile books and anthologies, most recently about his unique perspectives on being a Muslim, on the Arab Spring, and on his call for a “Jihad” of reformation within 21st century Islam. A Jihad for Love is the winner of five international awards.
These film screenings are brought to Athens through the work of the Ohio University Women’s Gender, & Sexuality Studies Department and the Between Love and Hate Theme.
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