A Jihad for Love
This past Wednesday, I walked into my local video store--local means locally owned and operated--to rent a movie. I try to go on Tuesday or Wednesday because those days are two-fers. Rent two for the price of one. I was also there to settle my debts with this establishment because I strongly believe in supporting neighborhood businesses; I have also been a customer for the past 15 or so years.
I love this video store because the have a large and looming selection of dvds. I have seen some of the best foreign films ever but on video tape--they still have it-and dvd. It has been like my own private film festival. If I miss a film at one of the several film festivals or one of the several local boutique theatres like Landmark Theatres I can usually go find it at this establishment. I try to keep up on which foreign movies and those that usually don't play at the megaplex are coming out and if I miss them I can walk into the store and ask them to please order it. They are really cool when it comes to this aspect of service and they have my continue patronage because of it.
Again, I went to the store on Wednesday for two reasons. I went to pay my nominal debt and rent one movie to get the second one free. I rented Slumdog Millionare and A Jihad for Love. Interestingly enough, Slumdog , as I understand it was out on dvd before it went to the megaplex and made it back to dvd. A Jihad for Love appeared in the San Francisco International Film Festival a couple of years ago. The SFIFF always has some interesting films. I always pick up the program even if I don't attend just to get the names of films. Sometimes it difficult get tickets to any film festival here because they are popular in the City by the Bay.
A Jihad for Love was--I believe--one of the most interesting films in the SFIFF during 2007. I think I remember reading about it in one of several of the local rags. I know that I at least saw it on the front page of the San Francisco Weekly. I guess it was a big deal because it dealt with gay and lesbian Muslims at very moment our country was heavily involved militarily in the Mideast and the first salvos in the gay marriage issue were fired in California. I also think this was near---not exact--the time that the issue of the 50 or so men were sent to prison in Egypt because they were gay. It was a very hot topic to say the least but I just could not make it to see what all fuss was about.
So a few months after the SFIFF hosted this film a different festival in San Francisco hosted A Jihad for Love . San Francisco holds so many film festivals at once that it is difficult to know which one to attend. I think the SFIFF overlaps the Jewish Film Festival or the Asian Film Festival? One of those two film festivals overlaps the African American film festival; and the African American film festival overlaps the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Festival. It isn't humanly possible to see every film so my local video is the next best bet. So many choices so little time.
Anywho, I rented A Jihad for Love this past Wednesday and I was blown away. There was one story that really gave me a new perspective on the gay and lesbian marriage issue brewing the United States. It involves a religious/historic figure in Pakistan. According to this documentary, the Pakistanis didn't seem to have a problem with one of its Imans having a male lover. If I am not mistaken, they were married. It was only a problem after the British colonized Pakistan. I believe the Pakistanis actually celebrated this religious/historic figure. I think I was paying enough attention to hear that they still celebrate this individual. Maybe I need to see it again to believe my ears and eyes.
Wouldn't be something if throughout the annals of time there were always gay and lesbian marriages? It wound burn a big hole in the argument by the people who think it is their business to tell others who they can and cannot marry?
I love this video store because the have a large and looming selection of dvds. I have seen some of the best foreign films ever but on video tape--they still have it-and dvd. It has been like my own private film festival. If I miss a film at one of the several film festivals or one of the several local boutique theatres like Landmark Theatres I can usually go find it at this establishment. I try to keep up on which foreign movies and those that usually don't play at the megaplex are coming out and if I miss them I can walk into the store and ask them to please order it. They are really cool when it comes to this aspect of service and they have my continue patronage because of it.
Again, I went to the store on Wednesday for two reasons. I went to pay my nominal debt and rent one movie to get the second one free. I rented Slumdog Millionare and A Jihad for Love. Interestingly enough, Slumdog , as I understand it was out on dvd before it went to the megaplex and made it back to dvd. A Jihad for Love appeared in the San Francisco International Film Festival a couple of years ago. The SFIFF always has some interesting films. I always pick up the program even if I don't attend just to get the names of films. Sometimes it difficult get tickets to any film festival here because they are popular in the City by the Bay.
A Jihad for Love was--I believe--one of the most interesting films in the SFIFF during 2007. I think I remember reading about it in one of several of the local rags. I know that I at least saw it on the front page of the San Francisco Weekly. I guess it was a big deal because it dealt with gay and lesbian Muslims at very moment our country was heavily involved militarily in the Mideast and the first salvos in the gay marriage issue were fired in California. I also think this was near---not exact--the time that the issue of the 50 or so men were sent to prison in Egypt because they were gay. It was a very hot topic to say the least but I just could not make it to see what all fuss was about.
So a few months after the SFIFF hosted this film a different festival in San Francisco hosted A Jihad for Love . San Francisco holds so many film festivals at once that it is difficult to know which one to attend. I think the SFIFF overlaps the Jewish Film Festival or the Asian Film Festival? One of those two film festivals overlaps the African American film festival; and the African American film festival overlaps the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Festival. It isn't humanly possible to see every film so my local video is the next best bet. So many choices so little time.
Anywho, I rented A Jihad for Love this past Wednesday and I was blown away. There was one story that really gave me a new perspective on the gay and lesbian marriage issue brewing the United States. It involves a religious/historic figure in Pakistan. According to this documentary, the Pakistanis didn't seem to have a problem with one of its Imans having a male lover. If I am not mistaken, they were married. It was only a problem after the British colonized Pakistan. I believe the Pakistanis actually celebrated this religious/historic figure. I think I was paying enough attention to hear that they still celebrate this individual. Maybe I need to see it again to believe my ears and eyes.
Wouldn't be something if throughout the annals of time there were always gay and lesbian marriages? It wound burn a big hole in the argument by the people who think it is their business to tell others who they can and cannot marry?
