By the Baruch College Short Film Team
2nd Place Winner, Short Film Competition, 2019 NY MSA Showdown
Editor’s Note: Muslim Youth Musings had the honor and opportunity to collaborate with NY MSA Showdown for their 2019 Competition, assist in judging the Creative Writing and Spoken Word contests, and publish selected winning entries in the categories of Creative Writing, Spoken Word, Photography, and Short Film. We congratulate all of the competitors and winners on producing high-quality work that is now being shared with Muslims across the world.
In our abstract short film, “The Return,” we decided to focus on a protagonist that has become lost in her everyday life and lost in her faith. It’s about a Muslim girl who has lost her connection with Allah. Her best friend always encouraged her to find solace in Allah and to be a good Muslim. However, due to her sudden death, she has fallen off the path of Islam, and is seemingly lost. All the ‘color’ from her life was drained, hence the film is in black and white. She is confused and in turmoil, to the point where even her life outside of her faith is being affected. She doesn’t know how to go back to Allah, but she tells him to send her a sign. As she thinks that, the adhan plays from the masjid. After the adhan plays, the color slowly comes back to her perspective as she feels drawn to enter the mosque, which is a sign of her reconnecting with Allah.
Many things in our lives are interconnected. Even when one thing is affected, it can lead to the breaking down of so many other aspects in our lives. It’s up to that one broken part to put everything else back into place. We see our protagonist mending the path that connected her to Islam. This is also signified by the title, “The Return”. She veered off of the path when her friend died, became lost and unsure. We do, however, at the end see her asking for a sign to help her recover and be guided back to the right path.
About the Team
CAST:
Rukayah Alom
Tabassum Tasnim
Yeatasmin Shiropa
Shanjana Chowdhury
CREW MEMBERS:
Rukayah Alom
Yeatasmin Shiropa
Shanjana Chowdhury
Tabassum Tasnim
Anika Shamim
