INSHA'allah DEMOCRACY Chronicles One Voter's Journey: to See If Democracy Is Compatible with an Unstable Muslim Country
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Insha’Allah Democracy Insha’Allah: p ronounced I n-SHAH-lah. Arabic language expression meaning “Allah willing.” Nominated for the Tim Hetherington Award, Sheeld Documentary Festival 2017 “Amidst global political turbulence and seismic movements of democratic leadership, Mo Naqvi’s lm personalizes our fundamental relationship to power and governance. This is a lm that questions the very basic human values of democracy: trust and safety,”- - Luke W. Moody, Director of Film Programming, Sheeld Doc/Fest. LOGLINE Former Pakistani President Musharraf, despite having a legacy as a dictator and being charged with treason, returns to Pakistan and runs for president. SHORT SYNOPSIS Filmmaker Mohammed Naqvi will vote for the rst time during Pakistan's elections. His priority is backing a candidate who will prevent Pakistan from becoming a terrorist state. But Mo has a tough choice— either vote for religious hardliners or for secular liberal leader General Musharraf, a former military dictator. INSHA'ALLAH DEMOCRACY chronicles one voter's journey: to see if democracy is compatible with an unstable Muslim country. OFFICIAL WEBSITE http://idemocracylm.com FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/InshaAllahDemocracyFilm/ PRESS CONTACT Sanam Hasan [email protected] PRODUCER CONTACT Mohammed Ali Naqvi [email protected] Phone: 646-384-8178 Presented by 64th Street Media, Mighty Engine and Impact Partners 64th Street Media ocial site: http://monaqvi.com/ Impact Partners ocial site: https://www.impactpartnerslm.com/ FULL FULL SYNOPSIS In 2010, I started receiving threats on my Facebook feed. “Burn in hell, you indel.” “Your lms insult Islam!” I’m exactly the kind of person militants want dead: a liberal, secular lmmaker, and a Muslim from a minority sect— a Shia. “You deserve to have your head chopped o.” The threats and hate mail became a regular occurrence; Taliban factions had already blown up targets in dierent parts of the my city. I felt unsafe. Seven thousand people had been lost to extremist violence in 2010 alone. Clearly, we needed a new strategy for handling militancy. Though general elections for president were three years away, contenders began to emerge, all vowing to tackle militancy and save Pakistan. I decided to document the process. The rst step: interview candidates in search of a savior. My choices included Nawaz Sharif, who had been charged with corruption and pandering to right-wing extremists while he was Prime Minister; and Imran Khan, frequently described as a Taliban sympathizer. With these limited options, I chose to turn to the one candidate running who I thought could save Pakistan--former dictator General Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf was living in exile in Dubai, unable to return to Pakistan lest he face charges of treason. Our rst encounter involved him showing me his face on the cover of Time Magazine, with the the headline “The World’s Toughest Job?” He seemed so sweet and down-to-earth, I found it hard to take him seriously at rst. He was nothing like what I’d expect from the military man who overthrew the government when I was a kid. But I’d always been grateful for his cracking down on militants at that time, and making my (Shia) family much safer. And as I got to know him, he conrmed what I most wanted to hear — he believed that violence against anyone on the basis of religion is not acceptable. I was sold. We struck up an unlikely friendship that lasted for years. I spent time in his home— n ot just interviewing him about his takeover and views on politics, but eating breakfast with him, watching cricket on TV and hanging out on the beach. Meanwhile, thousands rallied in the capital to support Islamic rule, chanting that “There are people out there who are trying to make our country liberal and secular. I say we ght jihad against them!” They eschewed all of the democratic candidates and their numbers were impressive. In such dire straits, I was convinced Musharraf was the right choice. But everything I believed about Musharraf was suddenly shattered. In May 2011, Osama Bin Laden was killed on Pakistani soil, and Musharraf was suspected of harboring him during his rule. Set against the backdrop of Pakistan’s ever changing political landscape, Insha’Allah Democracy features unprecedented access to the enigmatic former leader of Pakistan, General Musharraf. The lm additionally features prominent supporting voices such as cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Taliban gurehead Sami-ul-Haq. The lm chronicles my personal journey of political maturation, and the evolution of democracy in Pakistan, leading up to the country’s rst civilian-to-civilian transfer of power. After spending several years with Musharraf, I realized that the only eective way to challenge any negative political force is through deeper participation in the democratic process. Ultimately this is why I made Insha'Allah Democracy. I crave for Pakistan to have a high level of political empowerment. Because walls and bans won't defeat terrorism, but nding our own d emocratic voice will. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Growing up as a Shia Muslim minority in Pakistan, I saw members of my family and community being targeted by right-wing Islamist extremists. When my uncle was murdered in the 1990s, my family began hiding in the U.S. for long stretches of time until things calmed down back home. I wanted Pakistan to be a modern democratic state, but I also wanted to feel safe and secure - free to be a kid. When military dictator General Musharraf came to power in a coup in 1999, I was a teenager. His rule meant safety and secularism. I saw things change. For me, Musharraf was a hero. I wasn’t going to let the fact that he was a dictator mar that image. Soon after he resigned and went into exile, Pakistan was plunged into chaos. It was one of the most dangerous times in our country’s history. The democratically elected government that followed him proved woefully incompetent to deal with some of our most pressing issues, including terrorism and security. So when it became known that the former military ruler was running for election, it was impossible to ignore. All other candidates lacked any rm stance on the growing religious extremist element. As far as I was concerned, they were giving voice to an ultra orthodox, bigoted version of Islam - a version that cast me, a minority and a liberal, as unworthy of protection. Supporting Musharraf was only natural. But then I spent four years with him and got to know him personally. I witnessed major turning points as he campaigned in the lead up to the rst civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in our country’s history. When troubling news reports surfaced, he confessed to me his own role of covertly supporting militancy as a means of ghting a proxy war with our enemies. I realized that he didn’t think he owed his people the truth. Despite his liberal and secular outlook, he was a dictator at heart - a dangerous aw in a leader. My eventual realization could not have been possible without the unique position I was in. I got to vet candidates up close, well beyond the scope of any news coverage. I spent one-on-one time with them and got to know them personally. One lesson I learned in making Insha’Allah Democracy directly echoes the recent global shift that has dramatically come to the forefront in events of the last few months. The election of a U.S. president espousing a strongly nationalist, anti-immigrant agenda took the world by surprise. All over the world, there seems to be a wave of nationalist and xenophobic elements coming to power. And that, too, through the democratic process. Many people’s faith in democracy itself has been shaken. But what I’ve learned through making Insha’Allah Democracy i s that participation in the democratic process is critical to reforming it. FILMMAKER BIOGRAPHIES MOHAMMED ALI NAQVI (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER) Mohammed Ali Naqvi (Mo) is an internationally celebrated lmmaker, whose work has won over forty prestigious awards and honors, including a Special Emmy, two Amnesty International Human Rights Awards, and a Grand Prix from the United Nations Association Festival. He has been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, a Cinema Eye Honor, and the UNESCO-FELLINI Prize. He is also an alumnus of top festivals including Toronto, Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, and Busan, and an American Film Institute and National Endowment of the Arts Fellow. Mo’s non-ction lms have been called “explosive” and “chilling”, and have been described as having “jaw-dropping” and “unprecedented” access. His most recent documentary Among the Believers (PBS World/Netix), despite being described as “one of 2015’s most important lms” was banned in its home country Pakistan. The lm is an up-close and personal chronicle of ISIS supporter & Taliban ally Abdul Aziz Ghazi as he wages his jihad against the Pakistani state. Other credits include Pakistan’s Hidden Shame (Channel 4 UK, ABC Australia, NHK, SVT), a stark and disturbing look into the sexual abuse suered by street children living in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan and Shabeena’s Quest (Al-Jazeera World), about a remarkable school principal, and her quest to bring education to young girls living in the shadows of the Taliban. Internationally acclaimed Shame (Paramount / Showtime Networks) proles sexual violence survivor and international human rights icon Mukhtaran Mai. Terror’s Children (Discovery-Times) chronicles the lives of Afghan refugee children living in a post 9/11 Pakistan. In addition, Mo has produced ction feature lms including Big River starring Jo Odagiri and Kavi Raz in production with renowned lmmaker Takeshi Kitano's production company Oce Kitano, and I Will Avenge You Iago starring Giancarlo Esposito and Larry Pine.