Jihad on the Road and Hiring a Muslim Outreach Director

Festival History
A Jihad for Love had a World Premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival in September 2007. It screened at The Berlin Film Festival as the Opening Documentary of Panorama in February 2008. The film will kick-off a US theatrical release at The IFC Center in NYC on May 21, 2008 with our distributor First Run Features.

A Jihad for Love has screened at:
The Toronto International Film Festival, September 2007
The Rio Film Festival, Brazil, September 2007
The Morelia Film Festival, Mexico, October 2007
The Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, UK, November 2007
The Out in Africa Film Festival in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, November 2007
MIX BRASIL, Sao Paulo Brasil, November 2007
The Image + Nation Film Festival, Montreal, Canada, November 2007
The Tri-Continental Film Festival in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, India, January 2008
The Berlin Film Festival, February, 2008
The Mardi Gras Film Festival, Sydney, Australia, February 2008
The One World Human Rights International Documentary Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, March 2008
The Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Thessaloniki, Greece, March 2008

And beginning this week this is our festival and further schedule, so you know where to find us with the film.
The Amnesty International Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam, Holland, March 2008
The London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, March 2008
The Natfilm Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 2008
The Singapore International Film Festival, April 2008
The Istanbul International Film Festival, April 2008
The San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival, Spain, April 2008
The Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Italy, April 2008
The Pink Apple Film Festival, Zurich, Switzerland, April 2008
The Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, April 2008
High Falls Film Festival, Rochester, NY, April 2008
Athens International Film Festival, Ohio, U.S., April 2008
Planete Doc Review, Warsaw, Poland, May 2008
Berkshire Film Festival, U.S., May 2008
Boston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Boston, MA, May 2008
SASOD Film Festival, Guyana, June 2008
Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco, U.S., June 2008
Vukovar Film Festival, Vukovar, Croatia, June 2008
Sri Lanka Pride Festival, Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 2008
Outfest, Los Angeles, U.S., July 2008
Tokyo Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Tokyo, Japan, July 2008
The Melbourne International Film Festival, July 2008
Jersey Human Rights Film Festival, UK, October 2008
Indonesia five-city tour, August 2009
Special underground screenings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Lahore, Pakistan

Awards
MIX BRASIL, Sao Paulo Brasil - Award for Best Documentary
The Image + Nation Film Festival, Montreal, Canada – Award for Best Documentary
Tri-Continental Film Festival, India - Jury Award for Best Film
One World Human Rights International Documentary Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic - Honorable Mention, Right to Know Competition


And yes, the job call is out. This is the description and we are looking for amazing applicants. Email us with your resume at info@ajihadforlove.com.
Hiring a NYC Muslim Outreach Director for A Jihad for Love and Muslim Dialogue Project
In a time when Islam is under tremendous attack from within and without, "A Jihad for Love" is a daring documentary filmed in twelve countries and nine languages. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma has gone where the silence is loudest, filming with great risk in nations where government permission to make this film was not an option. "A Jihad for Love" is Mr. Sharma's debut and is the world's first feature documentary to explore the complex global intersections between Islam and homosexuality. Parvez enters the many worlds of Islam by illuminating multiple stories as diverse as Islam itself. The film travels a wide geographic arc presenting us lives from India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa and France. Always filming in secret and as a Muslim, Parvez makes the film from within the faith, depicting Islam with the same respect that the film's characters show for it. "A Jihad for Love" is produced by Sandi DuBowski (Director/Producer of the award-winning "Trembling Before G-d") and Parvez Sharma in association with ZDF-Arte, Channel 4, LOGO, SBS-Australia, The Sundance Documentary Fund and The Katahdin Foundation. The film has been acclaimed widely around the world and has won multiple awards and premiered at many prestigious film festivals internationally including Toronto 2007 and Berlin 2008.

The Director of Outreach will work closely the staff of Halal Films to develop and implement outreach/advocacy, education, online PR, and marketing strategies. The Muslim Outreach Director will serve as the primary project coordinator and work closely with Executive Director Parvez Sharma and Director of Strategy and Fundraising Sandi DuBowski.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
o Catalyze NYC theatrical release of a A Jihad for Love campaign kicking off at IFC Center in NYC on May 21st (other major will open from June-September including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington D.C., Boston and Chicago).
o Develop partnerships with international, national, and local Muslim, Arab, Iranian and South Asian organizations and create events and post-screening discussions in the cinemas. Partnerships include Islamic thinkers, theologians, religious and civil rights leaders, and immigration/ asylum activists.
o Monitor blogs and Web sites (Muslim, Arab, Iranian, South Asian GLBT, film, spiritual, interfaith, human rights/social change etc.) to identify opportunities for A Jihad for Love campaign including link exchanges with other sites, mailing lists, website discussion areas, online newsletters, web press, etc.
o Develop and implement online PR strategy for A Jihad for Love campaign to amplify our reach online and to grow our e-subscriber list.
o Research and implement web-based outreach, PR and marketing activities including social networking via Facebook, MySpace etc., viral marketing, search engine marketing, text messaging, blogs, tagging and other forms of electronic communications.
o Support fundraising for A Jihad for Love campaign with grant submissions, foundation research.
o Recruit and supervise interns.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

The ideal candidate will have:
o Enthusiasm and passion for A Jihad for Love and the issues at its core, and spreading the message around the world.
o Interest in Muslim, Arab, Iranian, South Asian community, online engagement, public interest advocacy/campaigns, film.
o Experience working with Muslim, Arab, Iranian, South Asian communities.
o Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), web publishing tools, as well as Internet research skills
o Ability to work with social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and sites in the Middle East/ Iran and South Asia.
o Ability to juggle multiple tasks under deadlines
o Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in written format, with staff, media and external partners
o Ability to work independently with minimal supervision with a team that is far-flung geographically

START DATE: Immediate
TYPE OF POSITION: Full-time position until at least Summer
LOCATION: NYC
SALARY: Commensurate with experience

Please send a resume, a cover letter about why you would like to work on this project, and contact info for three references to info@ajihadforlove.com