African-American, Muslim teenagers NAZ & MAALIK are best friends, classmates, and lovers. As the two closeted teens go about their regular daily routine on a Friday afternoon in Brooklyn - from visiting their local Mosque to selling lotto tickets on the streets - they arouse the suspicions of an undercover FBI agent who begins to track them. This complicated tale of race, religion, s*xuality, and undercover surveillance is an original look into the lives of an underrepresented community, and what it means to be young and disenfranchised in New York City. Inspired by writer-director Jay Dockendorf's interviews with Muslims - including closeted gays - living in New York post 9/11.
Inspired by true events, NAZ & MAALIK deftly explores issues of government surveillance of Muslims, the tense relationship between young black men and police, s*xuality, and Brooklyn's increasing gentrification. This drama is a day-in-the-life look at the unique experience of being young, gay, black and Muslim in Brooklyn. Anchored by award-winning, naturalistic lead performances from Kerwin Johnson, Jr. and Curtiss Cook, Jr., Indiewire said the film is 'intimate, authentic, and feels decidedly relevant in today's current context.'
FILMMAKER:
JAY DOCKENDORF (writer, director) is a writer, director and composer. Naz & Maalik is his first narrative feature. His short documentary "Vigilante Copy Editor" (2013) was a featured Op-Doc of The New York Times. He co-composed the music for Naz & Maalik with Adam Gunther. Winner of Tribeca Film Institute's IWC Filmmaker Award for Naz & Maalik, Jay has two more features in development with producers Margaret Katcher and Jacob Albert. All three are graduates of Yale University.
Posted By: Tanisha Grant
Monday, January 25th 2016 at 1:24AM
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