First of its kind: 'Ramadan America' to show diverse meanings of holy events for Muslims in the US

Production stands out as the first of its kind

Rifelion Media, the award-winning podcasting and media company, is proud to announce the premiere of Ramadan America, a first-of-its-kind short film anthology written, directed, and starring American Muslims, will be making its debut at SXSW 2024 at The Muslim House. The timing of the premiere also coincides with the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which starts on March 11.

The Muslim House, established by the MPAC Hollywood Bureau in 2021, stands as a dedicated space elevating American Muslim voices at prestigious events such as the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and Tribeca. In partnership with the Doris Duke Foundation, It serves as a platform for vital discussions that hold significance for American Muslim communities.

The film is a groundbreaking production that stands out as the first of its kind. It is written, directed, and features American Muslims. The series comprises five films that explore various genres, themes, and cultural nuances, aiming to highlight the diverse meanings of Ramadan and Eid for different Muslims. Together, these films celebrate stories of love, family, and tradition.

Ramadan America comprises five narrative short films written by American Muslim writers featuring Ramadan and Eid holiday stories. Rifelion originally acquired the scripts as part of a writing competition it conducted in conjunction with the Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF). The five scripts were selected from over 50 submissions from American Muslim writers.

“Rifelion could not be more proud and excited for the premiere of Ramadan America this week at The Muslim House at SXSW,” said Asad Butt, the founder of Rifelion. “This premiere is a testament to all of the hard work all five of the production teams put in to make this anthology happen. We are thrilled to share these short films with the world and spotlight all of the amazing American Muslim talent. Happy Ramadan!”

“As a Muslim, being able to participate in this kind of intimate and special cultural storytelling where every piece of the project was being touched by Muslims was truly a gift,” said Rizwan Manji, who is in part of Ramadan America's cast for Nani's Biryani along with his son Aariq Manji. Rizwan is known to audiences for his work in Schitt’s Creek, The Magicians, and Transformers, among others. “Working with my son early in his career on a script written by my friend Faroukh Virani and to share the possibilities and importance of this kind of project is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

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