NasMaalik

This has to be one of the busiest periods for film festival coverage. So many happening all within a rather short time-span; and many of them are what you’d call “majors,” including the SXSW Film Festival, which runs from March 13-21, 2015.

The festival announced its lineup last week, and I took a closer look at the list of films selected to uncover those titles that you should know about, given this blog’s stated focus, like this one.

It’s a film we actually profiled in late 2013, when the filmmakers were fundraising for it, via a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $37,000 (they asked for $35,000). Titled “Naz and Maalik,” the film hails from writer/director Jay Dockendorf, and tells the curious story of “2 closeted Muslim teens who have their Friday afternoon ruined by FBI surveillance, when their secretive behavior and small-time scheming start to look like fledgling steps toward violent radicalism.”

It reads like a combo drama/thriller – not your typical coming-of-age tale involving gay teens – and I’m definitely intrigued.

The film’s cast includes Curtiss Cook Jr., Kerwin Johnson Jr., Annie Grier, Anderson Footman, Bradley Custer, and Ashleigh Awusie.

Its SXSW screening will be its world premiere.

You can learn move about the film via its website here.

Trailer below:

Naz and Maalik

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