The Radical dir. Richard Finn Gregory/South Africa/Kenya/87:00/2022
THE RADICAL is an intimate portrait of the world’s first openly gay Imam.
Muhsin Hendricks was a fashion designer in South Africa, who struggled to reconcile his sexuality with his faith. He studied in Pakistan to become an imam—a religious leader—so that he could understand Islam more deeply.
After deciding that he had to be truthful to himself and the world, he came out in 1995, and established the radically-inclusive mosque in Cape Town that gave rise to the global queer Muslim network. Today, Hendricks leads a devoted group of LGBTQ+ Muslims and allies, based in a working-class neighborhood of the city. He decides to take his work to where it is needed most: the East African communities living under anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The film provides first-person accounts of growing up queer in a society caught between the liberalism of the South African Constitution and the conservativeness of its cultures and history. In the wider African context, it chronicles individual journeys to acceptance amidst the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights on the continent.
Absent Bodies – dir. Antonius Ghosn/Lebanon/26:14/ 2023
N returns to his hometown of Beirut after years of absence but remains invisible to his loved ones, who can only feel his presence. As he listens to a series of confessions recorded by his lover, he learns of their lives without him. N wanders between dreams, reality and fantasies in his own city.
THE RADICAL is an intimate portrait of the world’s first openly gay Imam.
Muhsin Hendricks was a fashion designer in South Africa, who struggled to reconcile his sexuality with his faith. He studied in Pakistan to become an imam—a religious leader—so that he could understand Islam more deeply.
After deciding that he had to be truthful to himself and the world, he came out in 1995, and established the radically-inclusive mosque in Cape Town that gave rise to the global queer Muslim network. Today, Hendricks leads a devoted group of LGBTQ+ Muslims and allies, based in a working-class neighborhood of the city. He decides to take his work to where it is needed most: the East African communities living under anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The film provides first-person accounts of growing up queer in a society caught between the liberalism of the South African Constitution and the conservativeness of its cultures and history. In the wider African context, it chronicles individual journeys to acceptance amidst the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights on the continent.
Watch the TRAILER
Preceded by the short film:
N returns to his hometown of Beirut after years of absence but remains invisible to his loved ones, who can only feel his presence. As he listens to a series of confessions recorded by his lover, he learns of their lives without him. N wanders between dreams, reality and fantasies in his own city.
Community Sponsor: The Queer Muslim Collective
Details
Venue
Kingston, Ontario K7L 5M6 Canada + Google Map