Marjoun and the Flying Headscarf (2019)

A teenager in Arkansas searches for identity in the headscarf and a motorcycle in the aftermath of her father's imprisonment. Set in 2006, the film explores the results of Arab and Muslim Americans being increasingly detained for "guilt by association". The film links the civil rights struggle of Arab/Muslim Americans with that of African Americans through Marjoun's attendance of Central High School. It weaves her story into the lineage of the Little Rock Nine. This film is set also at Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi. This Zen Buddhist monastery has been established in the tradition of the friendship of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, bringing together the themes of civil rights movements and interfaith practice. This is an expansion of the short film by the same title, that was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival.