Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a film
that Variety calls 'gracefully crafted'
in the documentary An Act of Worship.
The film explores the effects
that discrimination and Islamophobia
have had on the Muslim community over the last three decades
and shows how the acts of a few extremists
can demonize an entire culture.
Aside from showing us the effects of bias toward Muslims,
An Act of Worship sets out to rewrite a narrative
for the Muslim community in America.
The film follows three female activists
trying to combat racism and hate crimes
against their people.
An Act of Worship was directed by Pakistani-American director
Nausheen Dadabhoy.
Dadabhoy realized she needed to tell this story
during a storytelling workshop for people in her community.
There she met fellow Muslims who would,
instead of highlighting their own
positive individual achievements or accomplishments,
would instead identify themselves in relation
to a family member
who had been jailed in the war on terror.
This film utilizes archival footage and old home movies.
Personally, I love it when a documentary uses this technique.
It provides such context and adds a level of intimacy
into characters' lives.
Dadabhoy provides us with both as she weaves personal stories
between the historical footage to help narrate the film.
This style, however,
must not have been easy for a filmmaker like Nausheen Dadabhoy,
who is at heart a cinematographer,
which is how she got her start making movies.
This is her second feature-length film.
Let's sit back and watch the work of a talented filmmaker
trying to help her community emerge from the shadows
in the hope of rebranding itself and taking back its identity.
Not an easy task, but a noble one.
An Act of Worship starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.