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Director: Parvez Sharma
Language: English
For a gay filmmaker, filming in Saudi Arabia presents two serious challenges: filming is forbidden in the country and homosexuality is punishable by death. For filmmaker Parvez Sharma, however, these were risks he had to assume as he embarked on his Hajj pilgrimage, a journey considered the greatest accomplishment and aspiration within Islam, his religion. On his journey Parvez aims to look beyond 21st-century Islam’s crises of religious extremism, commercialism and sectarian battles. He brings back the story of the religion like it has never been told before, having endured the biggest jihad there is: the struggle with the self.
The Spotlight on Documentary Series will be focusing on Parvez Sharma, an award-winning writer and filmmaker. This series is brought to us by the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, the College of Arts and Sciences “Love and Hate” Theme, and the Center for Law, Justice, and Culture.
“Mr. Sharma has created a swirling, fascinating travelogue and a stirring celebration of devotion.” – Andy Webster, The New York Times
“A Sinner in Mecca is a suitably messy mix of the gritty and the surreal, the wrenching and the transcendent, from the midst of the trek to Islam’s holiest site.” – Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
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79 MIN
