Everything You Need To Know Before the 2023 Mosquers Film Festival

The Mosquers Film Festival is back and ready to showcase the best of the Muslim filmmaking community. In its own words, the Festival aims to educate, entertain and build bridges through showcasing talent and the diverse Muslim experience. Each year in Edmonton, Alberta, the Festival pursues new ways to introduce both Muslims and non-Muslims to the most original and authentic storytelling by talent from across the world.

The first Mosquers took place at the University of Alberta as a one-day short-film competition with the goal of showcasing the diversity and talents of Edmonton’s local Muslim community. In a conversation with Global News Morning Edmonton, the Festival’s finance & partnerships director, Farha Kharadi, shared that the Festival was created to combat stereotypes and misconceptions of Muslims and of Islam. Kharadi went on to say that even now, the Festival wants to continue to challenge the narrative perception of Muslims while creating a platform for Muslim creatives to tell their stories, talk about their dynamic experiences and change the way that people see Muslims.

Despite its humble beginnings, the Mosquers Film Festival has now expanded into an annual event that lasts three days, drawing talented filmmakers, performers and audiences from around the world. This year’s Festival boasts an impressive programming lineup, including a red-carpet gala, featured multimedia artist performances and networking opportunities. Additionally, the Festival is hosting a special presentation of Mosquers Alumnus Imran J. Khan’s debut feature with an all-star cast, the award-winning film "Mustache" (2023). The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with the filmmaker.

The Festival’s main event is a selected screening of six to eight short films; while the finalists are still being announced, the lineup includes several films that Fann has been tracking around this year’s festival circuit. The finalists announced at the time of writing this article include “Eid Mubarak” by Mahnoor Euceph, “Sweet Refuge” by Maryam Mir, “Lemons” by Matt Handy, “Desi Standard Time Travel” by Kashif Pasta, “The Old Young Crow” by Liam LoPinto, “The Refund Department” by Wasif Haseeb and “Fitriya: Muslim On and Off The Court” by Selina McCallum and Safa Ali Mudei. Following the screenings, there will be an awards presentation selected by an expert panel of judges, who will dole out up to $6,000 in awards.

For the first time this year, the Mosquers Film Festival will also include a pitch competition, which is taking place in partnership with Rifelion Media and is currently in its selection process. The pitch competition’s prompt, directed at Muslim writing and directing teams, was to feature Muslim characters around the theme "stories in the workplace." Once selected, finalists will go on to submit a short film script and pitch deck which they will present live on Oct. 15 at the Festival. The top team will win $1,000 USD and the chance to have their film produced by Rifelion.

The Mosquers Film Festival begins Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.