Islamic Studies

Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's The Wild Pear Tree follows in the great tradition of family dramas like Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and weaves an evocative tale of creative struggle and familial responsibility with inspired performances, sumptuous imagery and surprising bursts of humor. 

Following his harrowing documentary, It's Always Late for Freedom, director Mehrdad Oskouei continues his exploration of a male juvenile detention facility near Tehran. Last Days of Winter follows these young men in the days leading up to the Iranian New Year, as they take stock of their lives.

A provocative look at the complexities of Arab identity in post 9/11 America, American Arab interweaves filmmaker Usama Alshaibi's own story, and that of his family, as well as other Arab Americans to thoughtfully explore the values, passions, hopes and perceptions of his community, from inside and out.

What is legal and what is just? Through candid, first-ever, interviews with Israeli judges, prosecutors and legal advisors, The Law In These Parts - winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival - is a gripping and revelatory investigation into the legal framework put in place by Israel in 1967 to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Executive produced by renowned filmmaker and journalist Laura Poitras.

In her Oscar nominated documentary Promises, filmmaker Justine Shapiro took us into the lives of Palestinian and Israeli children in and around Jerusalem. Her new documentary, Our Summer in Tehran, transports us into the seldom seen realm of middle class family life in Iran, transcending overt politics for a perspective Western media has little interest in showing.

A landmark documentary trilogy, Sun, Moon, Stars captures the tumultuous changes taking place in Indonesia by following three generations of a single Jakarta family for over a decade. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich, it offers an unparalleled, vibrant portrait of the world's fourth most populous nation; and home to the largest Muslim community.

For over a decade, noted filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich followed the lives of an Indonesian family in Jakarta. In this final film of his acclaimed Sun, Moon, Stars trilogy, Helmrich confronts the most important issues facing the country's fast-changing society: corruption, conflict between religions, gambling addiction, the generation gap, and the widening disparity between rich and poor.

The end of the Suharto regime ushered in an era of rapid sociopolitical upheaval in Indonesia. In this second installment of the Sun, Moon, Stars trilogy, filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich returns to the Sjamsuddin family to intimately capture the changes taking place in their country, including the troubling rise of Islamic fundamentalism.

Against a backdrop of social unrest that led to the ouster of Indonesia's long-time dictator President Suharto, The Eye of the Day begins filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich's award-winning trilogy Sun, Moon, Stars. It introduces us to an ordinary family living in the slums of Jakarta; a family Helmrich would return to and document for more than a decade.

For centuries, Marrakech's historic Djemaa el-Fna square has been home to the world's greatest storytellers; their craft even recognized by UNESCO as an "Intangible Heritage of Humanity." This wonderful documentary examines this age-old tradition and considers its place in the modern world.

What does it mean to be young and Muslim in today's America? An invaluable and especially timely documentary, Abraham's Children takes us into the lives of 10 Muslim American adolescents, ranging in age from 10 to 17 years old, to share their experiences and hear their stories in their own words.

The incredible story of how a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars was found in the desert of Uzbekistan develops into a larger exploration of how art survives in times of oppression. A fascinating documentary about a group of visionary artists and one man who risked his life to rescue their work.

A behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous world of wartime news gathering, this incisive documentary tells the story of 24-year-old Ajmal Naqshbandi, a 'fixer' - someone hired by foreign journalists to gain access for their stories - who was kidnapped, along with an Italian reporter, by the Taliban in 2007.

The educational version of the 2008 Academy Award® winner for Best Documentary Feature, Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive investigation into the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.

What are the implications for democracy in Pakistan? Before his sudden resignation, President Musharraf agreed to discuss these issues over dinner at his official residence, the Army House. Supplemented by a diverse range of interviews, this documentary provides an important study of today's Pakistan.

From the director of the acclaimed Al-Jazeera documentary Control Room, this extremely prescient and insightful film shows how three women activists used digital cameras and a website to expose widespread fraud and violence in the country's last presidential elections - in which Mubarak won with 88.6% of the vote.

Over the past two decades India has experienced steady economic growth resulting in the rise of a new middle class. But what does it mean to actually live in the world's largest democracy? In Search of Gandhi seeks to discover the current and future state of democracy in India.

Filmed across the Middle East, Bloody Cartoons looks at how and why 12 drawings in a Danish newspaper drew a small country into a confrontation with Muslims all over the world. Featuring interviews with key players, this documentary goes behind the controversy to investigate the roots of the crisis.

On an abandoned beach off the coast of Israel, against all odds, Israeli and Palestinian fishermen live and work together. Men on the Edge: Fishermen's Diary documents four years in their lives, an eclectic group of men brought together by a shared relationship with the sea.