- Title: Actor Riz Ahmed leads bid to change way Muslims seen in movies
- Date: 11th June 2021
- Summary: NEAR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MARCH 30, 2021) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, RIZ AHMED, WHILE PROMOTING ''SOUND OF METAL'' - NOT THE HIS LATEST TWEET, SAYING: "You know, it means a lot to me that as many people as possible can recognize themselves and find themselves in these moments of celebration. You know, it's great if people can connect to this because I'm the first Muslim nominated in this category. It's great if you can connect to it because, you know, you've got tinnitus and you can connect to this film. You know, I think for a lot of people, they feel really excited that it is the best picture nomination for a film that is open captioned, you know, for the deaf community."
- Embargoed: 25th June 2021 13:09
- Keywords: Hollywood Riz Ahmed acting muslim representation
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA003EGYKGUL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:British actor Riz Ahmed on Thursday launched an effort to improve the way Muslims are depicted in movies after a study showed that they are barely seen and shown in a negative light when they do appear.
Ahmed, the "Sound of Metal" star and the first Muslim to get a best actor Oscar nomination, said the Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion would include funding and mentoring for Muslim storytellers in the early stages of their careers.
"The representation of Muslims on screen feeds the policies that get enacted, the people that get killed, the countries that get invaded," Ahmed said in a statement.
"The data doesn't lie. This study shows us the scale of the problem in popular film, and its cost is measured in lost potential and lost lives," he added.
Titled "Missing and Maligned," the study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that less than 10% of top-grossing films released from 2017-2019 from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand featured at least one speaking Muslim character.
When they did, they were shown as outsiders, or threatening, or subservient, the study showed. About one-third of Muslim characters were perpetrators of violence and more than half were targets of violence.
"Muslims live all over the world, but film audiences only see a narrow portrait of this community, rather than viewing Muslims as they are: business owners, friends, and neighbors whose presence is part of modern life," said Al-Baab Khan, one of the report's authors.
Ahmed, 38, who was born in London to Pakistani parents, said that offering funding would be game-changing in getting more Muslim actors, writers, and producers into the movie and TV business.
"Had I not received a scholarship and also a private donation, I wouldn't have been able to attend drama school," he said.
The $25,000 fellowships for young Muslim artists will be decided by an advisory committee that includes actors Mahershala Ali and Ramy Youssef and comedian Hasan Minhaj.
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