HOME

In the city, I always call Bombay (and for good reason)-the theater was too full to accomodate everyone including old friends that showed up. So we had two back to back screenings.
Screening the film in my Vatan (homeland) has been a huge personal victory for me-even beyond getting the award from the Delhi Chief Minister. The reactions have been so profound and to be honest so much more refreshing than the ones I usually get from my Western audiences (which while critical, are also remarkably and obviously different).
Saniya from Pakistan who was at the screening writes:

Hi Parvez,

Thank you so much for your film last night. I have to say that the best line in the film was that the, "Prophet was a femininst." Amazing how much effort goes into making a project come to completion. Where you must have started and then to bring it back to Bombay for a screening. Amazing!

Very Best,

saniya
I was surrounded by love, criticism, admiration and disagreement. And every single minute of it was worthwhile and priceless. Pictures and Video will follow when I return to the US.

And Shabnam writes
To,
Mr. Parvez
It was a good experience watching Jihad for Love yesterday... Its a topic tht is rarely covered.

And this from Ana

I saw the film at the festival at IHC in Delhi. I just wanted to express my utterly strong impressions about the film to the director!!! He has done a truly remarkable work! I'm a PhD student in social anthropology in Sweden and happened to be at IHC at the time. I have a large interest in how anthropological knowledge can be expressed in other media than academic texts, and from my perspective, this is what has been done here! My research project concerns gender construction in South India, so the topic of the film was also very interesting for me. Living in the West where homosexuality is more accepted, the film gives much insight to what it can mean to have a strong religious faith, something we often tend to neglect. Especially the islamic faith is being stigmatised and simplified. Issues such as what can be involved in being a refugee is also well expressed. I find it highly important to show the film in Europe, and I wish you good luck for an award in Berlin!
Best regards,

Anna Laine, University of Gothenburg,
Gothenburg, Sweden