THE MILE-END MOSAIC SERIES presented by the WHO WE ARE project [www.WhoWeAre.com]
[ - IN PRODUCTION - ]
A promotional flyer encouraging the public to vote for Abdallah of Mile-End, episode 1 of the MEM series
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THE MILE-END MOSAIC SERIES is a collection of short documentary episodes that explore the cultures, personal histories, and worldviews of members from Montreal’s uniquely diverse Mile-End Muslim Sufi community. Comprised largely of recent immigrants from several continents around the world, as well as native-born Canadians, the community is exceptional in that it unites people from a very wide range of ages, as well as social, economic and cultural backgrounds, in an environment of vitality and friendship. Each episode of the series focuses on a different member of the community – on his or her reflections, insights, life challenges and triumphs, as a Muslim, as a Canadian immigrant, and ultimately, as human being. By focusing on compelling individuals and their stories, and contrasting this with their community involvement, the series will depict a portrait of the larger cultural milieu. THE MILE-END MOSAIC SERIES is destined for web, theatrical and television broadcast.
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EPISODE 1: ABDALLAH OF MILE-END (2007)
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WINNER: PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD – Radio Canada International’s Digital Diversity contest on immigration, December 2007
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Abdallah is a Djiboutian-born Canadian who lives in Montreal’s Mile-End neighbourhood, famous for its cultural diversity and vibrancy of life. Everyone who meets Abdallah is immediately struck by his sheer enthusiasm for life. He tells good jokes, too.
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An Afar tribesman native to Djibouti: an afro, a camel- happy days!
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EPISODE 2: MIGRATIONS (2008)
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“The seeker of truth is the son of his time”- so goes an old Sufi adage, asserting that in every age, suitable wisdom can be found. In contemporary Canadian society, it is often the immigrants who bare the most palpable, living connection to such insight- many who’ve come here have left ways of life and traditions that were a reality to their ancestors for countless generations. Yet such a connection to one’s heritage often comes under threat in the modern circumstance- sadly, the new generation will often know all-too-little of the world into which their parents were born. Without true self-knowledge, the Sufis argue, a society is headed for catastrophe.
Seen through the eyes of a Mali-born immigrant to Canada, MIGRATIONS is a meditation on the changing face of human identity, and our enduring need for wisdom.
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A postcard of traditional housing in Timbuktu, Mali
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A village elder and his son in traditional dress, West Africa
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UPDATE: MIGRATIONS is being featured on the Who We Are blog – check it out here! Or visit the MIGRATIONS video page here to view the film (please give it a minute to load before viewing).
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EPISODE 3: LA KHAIMA: THE TENT OF MILE-END ( – IN PRODUCTION – )
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pictured above: Atigh, the Mauritania-born owner of La Khaima restaurant.
MORE COMING SOON!
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EPISODE 4: THE DERVISH OF PARC X ( – IN PRODUCTION – )
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Hassan, an unlikely, insightful hero with an incredible life story, is the true “Dervish of Parc-Ex.” Here he sings at a community celebration.
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THE DERVISH OF PARC-EX follows the story of an elderly Moroccan immigrant named Hassan as he reflects on the astounding circumstances of his personal life’s journey: emerging from the poorest class in Morocco, as a youth Hassan had the fluke chance to immigrate to Canada after his sister gained employment at the Canadian Embassy in Casablanca. Yet upon arriving here, far from his family and the society he grew up in, Hassan found himself living on the margins, where he was seduced by a lifestyle that led to serious drug and alcohol abuse. His life deteriorating around him, Hassan eventually hit rock bottom: finally, one fateful day, an intense accident befell Hassan in the metro that left him on the edge of death, his body crushed and his consciousness distant. Miraculously, months later he awoke from his coma, handicapped and forever changed. As he underwent rehabilitation during the coming years, he found himself at the beginning of a miraculous, though very difficult “second life”; yet he could scarcely have ever dreamt where his destiny was about to lead him, and of the community that would help him rediscover his purpose in life…
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A still from the animated sequence in “The Dervish of Parc Ex”
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EPISODE 5: SAFIYA & MAHDIA ( – IN PRODUCTION – )
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A film on two Montrealers, each the product of a North-African and Quebecois marriage. Below is a look at some of the animation stills for the film.
