These two docs— one set in Pakistan and the other in Morocco — challenge viewer preconceptions about being both Muslim and gay.

“My sexuality doesn’t harm my religion. I am Muslim and my sexuality keeps me Muslim.” With these words, one of the subjects of I Am Gay and Muslim gives lie to the idea that being gay and being Muslim are antithetical to each other. Director Chris Belloni follows several young men in Morocco, all of whom try to reconcile their multiple identities as gay, as Muslim, and as Moroccan. Though homosexuality is illegal in Morocco there is still space for gay men to live and love one another, and some, like 21 year-old Rayan, do so openly. His and the other stories on display in this beautiful portrait of Moroccan gay culture explode the myths about what it means to be gay and to live in the Muslim world.

— MORDECAI STAYTON

PRECEDED BY:

CHUPPAN CHUPAI

Chuppan Chupai (Hide and Seek) follows the lives of four LGBT Pakistanis: activist Neeli, flighty but “famous” Kami, shy Waseem, and Jenny, a transgender woman who struggles with her transition. All live under the specter of Pakistan’s sharia laws forbidding homosexuality. Throughout the film, their lives in the urban centers of Lahore and Rawalpindi are shown to be alternately joyous and painful— symptomatic of life around the world.

Co-presented by:

3rd I South Asian Independent Film

Bibi SF