The first Muslim International Film Festival is going down in London this week to champion "narratives of international Muslim filmmakers and highlight their compelling stories".

The programme consists of eight function movies, two units of quick movies, in addition to panels and networking alternatives.

Festival director Sajid Varda instructed Sky News it is about altering depictions of Islam and Muslims.

"For many years, as Muslim, we've never really seen ourselves reflected back on TV and film," he stated, talking on the pageant's opening in London's Leicester Square.

"Many of the tales which have Muslim characters are very cartoonish, very tropey. It's all the time these 4 key tropes: Muslims are terrorists, Muslim males are misogynists, Muslim ladies are oppressed, and Islam is a risk to the West.

"And it seems there's no other original ideas apart from the odd individual or show. It's about how we platform these other wonderful, rich stories."

BAFTA and Oscar-winner Asif Kapadia whose documentaries embody Senna, Maradona and now Federer, instructed Sky News the business has an extended solution to go.

"The only way you can see yourself on screen sometimes is if you make the film and put people that look like you up on the screen and they're just as valid as anyone else's stories. So that's why it's special," he instructed Sky News.

"It is tougher if you're not from public college. It is tougher for those who did not go to Oxbridge. It is tougher for those who do not come from cash. It is tougher if you do not have household within the enterprise who may give you a job.

"All of that is a struggle. And if you don't come from a community that is typically in the media then it's going to be harder to step into it.

"Once you step into it you won't see numerous those that appear like you or come from the place you got here from or have your expertise."

Among the films screened at the festival is Jordanian filmmaker Amjad al Rasheed's first feature, Inshallah A Boy, which follows a young woman's fight for independence following the death of her husband.

Kamal Lazraq's gritty debut Hounds opened the pageant on Thursday. Set in Casablanca, the movie follows the misadventures of a father and son caught up in a kidnapping gone improper.

Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani's Goodbye Julia explores morality and reconciliation set towards the backdrop of South Sudan's 2011 succession.

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Riffy Ahmed, director of The Call, stated festivals are key for newcomers to the business.

"It's really great to see more filmmakers in spaces like this that can represent our voices and also showcase some of the great talents that are around here."

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Elham Ehsas, whose movie Yello was nominated for a BAFTA, instructed Sky News he fell into the business accidentally after an opportunity audition however he has discovered area to inform tales from his ancestral house in Afghanistan.

"It was never an option to do what I ended up doing," he stated.

"I think at some point my family thought I was going through a phase when I was making films, but now Alhamdulillah (praise to God), I've got to a stage where things are really good and I'm lucky enough to tell stories from my homeland and slowly getting better and better at telling stories."

The Muslim International Film Festival runs till Sunday.

Content Source: information.sky.com