General admission tickets are now on sale for the Mosquers Film Festival (TMFF) — the world’s largest Muslim film and arts festival — that returns to Edmonton for its 16th year from September 20 to 22. TMFF includes a short film competition hosted by Canadian comedian Malik Elassal, live performances by singer-songwriter Nemahsis, and poet Muna Abdulahi, according to a press release. Additionally, it said it will hold a screening of the Teacher followed by a live question and answer session with director Farah Nabulsi.Alongside the film festival, TMFF said it will host Opening Credits — an industry event bringing together filmmakers and organizations from around the world to network and collaborate. It added Opening Credits will feature free panels with people such as Yintah producer Jennifer Wickham and the Get Up, Aisha creators. At a live pitch competition, seven aspiring filmmakers will get to pitch their scripts to a panel of judges for cash prizes and a chance for the winning film to be produced by Rifelion Media.It predicted about 2,000 film lovers, including 300 Muslim creatives from across North America, will attend Opening Credits. Attendees will include Transplant actor Hamza Haq, Little Mosque on the Prairie creator Zarqa Nawaz, Hana Khan Carries On author Uzma Jalaluddin, and Canada’s first hijab-wearing television news anchor Ginella Massa.To have some fun with the naming, TMFF said the name Mosquers is a combination of the words mosque and the Oscars — a third space meant for the talented, wonderful Muslim creative community telling universal stories. What started in 2007 as a short film competition displaying local Muslim talent is now an annual film festival and non-profit to assist creatives. It said the main event will be held on September 21 at 5 p.m. at the Winspear Centre. It pointed out this short film competition will feature six finalists, with audiences getting a chance to vote for their favourite.The screening of the Teacher will be held on September 22 at 2 p.m. at Landmark Cinemas 9 in Edmonton City Centre. While the film festival is one element, TMFF said Opening Credits will begin on September 20 at 7 p.m. at the Edmonton Convention Centre with a panel about art as activism. It said it will be a thought-provoking discussion featuring Wickham and Abdulahi. The panel discussion about the making of Get Up, Aisha will be held on September 21 at noon at the Courtyard Edmonton Downtown. Get Up, Aisha creators Marushka Almeida, Nisha Khan, and Rabiya Mansoor will hold a discussion about its making, their creative process, and its impact. The script and pitch competition finals is scheduled on September 21 at 2 p.m. at the Courtyard Edmonton Downtown. Seven Muslim filmmakers will pitch their story ideas to a panel of judges in front of a live studio audience for a chance to win their share of $1,000 in prizes and a production opportunity from Rifelion Media.
