Highly Anticipated Documentary “36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime” Gets World Premiere
In 2015, three Muslim American students were executed while eating dinner in their home. The film charts the victims' families' agonizing overnight pivot from trauma to advocacy as they struggle to prevent their loved ones' deaths from being dismissed.
In "36 Seconds," filmmaker Tarek Albaba and his team make an impassioned case for justice for three Muslim American students — Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha — who were wrongfully murdered while in their home.
“36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime” by Tarek Albaba is set to make its world premiere this Saturday, Nov. 11. Albaba’s documentary will premiere in the U.S. Competition section at the DOC NYC Festival. Due to high demand ahead of its release, it is already scheduled to have a second screening on Nov. 13.
The film’s site summarizes the project as follows:
In 2015, three Muslim American students [Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha] were executed while eating dinner in their home in Chapel Hill, NC. In “36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime,” filmmaker Tarek Albaba makes an impassioned case for justice for these innocents and for his community. The film charts the victims’ families’ agonizing overnight pivot from trauma to advocacy as they struggle to prevent their loved ones’ deaths from being dismissed as the result of a random parking dispute.
They courageously speak the truth about the hate crime that has destroyed their lives, about the overt and insidious ways racism plays out in our society and about the need to reform a hate crime system that is broken. This is a project about grace and the will to fight for the truth in the worst of circumstances.
As shown by the need for a second screening before the first has even happened, “36 Seconds” is highly anticipated by audiences, demand all the more pertinent considering the ongoing crisis in Palestine. Bedatri Choudhury, arts and entertainment editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, said that, “‘36 Seconds’ ... reflects on what it means to be Muslim in the American South, where the country’s gun laws and Islamophobia intersect. Through the devastation and heartbreak of the film emerges a portrait of a resilient community in pursuit of the truth and, ultimately, justice” (via the DOC NYC website). And incredibly, “36 Seconds” is the recipient of up to $40,000 in grants at DOC NYC to activate audiences to create a positive community action.
Albaba is also being honored as one of the festival’s “40 Under 40” filmmakers. The program celebrates emerging talent in the documentary world. Albaba and the other honorees will be celebrated at the 2023 DOC NYC festival on the festival’s website and social media channels, and will be welcomed in an exclusive cocktail reception. “36 Seconds” is Albaba’s first feature documentary.
The premiere Nov. 11 screening of “36 Seconds” will be followed by a Q&A with Albaba and executive producers Sean Dash and Omar Altalib, as well as subject Dr. Suzanne Barakat. The second screening on Nov. 13 will include an extended introduction from Albaba.
The festival will offer screenings in-person — at Village East by Angelika on Nov. 11 and the IFC Center on Nov 13., both in New York — as well as online. Virtual screenings will be available from Nov. 12 through Nov. 26. You can purchase your tickets at the link below.
Anwar Molani is a doctor by day and actor by night. He plays Dad, Soniya and Yasmeen’s family patriarch, in the “Ramadan America” short “In The Meantime.”
