Five Times a Day

• • 3ARTS MATCH
  • 364% contributed

With this campaign, my goal is to produce a short fiction film that blends my identities while pushing the stories we see of Muslim and queer women. The purpose of this film is to also challenge and propel my own storytelling style and boundaries as an artist. I wrote, am producing, and will star in this intimate story that shows the connection between two Muslim women on a first night together, told at five different times, each marked by the Muslim call to prayer. Combining my connections between identity, religion, love, sex, romance, and pleasure, this film will feel like a memory, blending sound as poetry and light as storytelling. Through this intra-Muslim relationship, the film will show the beauty and universality of love and connection. Five Times A Day is currently in the pre-production phase. Your donations will help us make this dream and short film a reality! With your support we will be able to secure the location for two days of prep and two days of shooting, secure the lights and equipment, shoot the film, pay every member of the all-female-identifying team involved, edit the project, and submit the film to film festivals.

About This Project

From Fajr to Isha, the call to prayer rings out five times a day in Muslim countries. I have always been fascinated by the call to prayer. Growing up Muslim in a non-Muslim country, however, there is no call to prayer ringing throughout the countryside. But, growing up Muslim, every Muslim family I knew had a prayer clock that did. The first clock we had was gold and green and looked like a mosque. It sat on our fireplace mantle and there was one in almost every room of our house. When the call to prayer rang, you had to stop talking, stop doing whatever you were doing, and you were reminded of your faith. Which meant you go pray. Back then, I was raised in a strongly Muslim household. Now, I still identify as Muslim even though I wouldn’t say I pray five times a day; but I have been shaped by that call to prayer. I am impacted by it even now. And I can experience a range of emotions from that call – joy, calm, power, strength, anger, annoyance, fear, excitement. Furthermore, I’m fascinated by how the call marks passages of time and captures us in a moment. And being a queer, Muslim woman, I’m drawn to specific moments: moments of intimacy, moments when I’m with another woman, moments when I am so connected to that woman that I cannot leave her side for 24 hours. And within that 24 hours, within those moments, it is possible to see and experience and be immersed in the breadth of human intimacy.

The main production team on this film all have personal connections to the material. The director is Tchaiko Omawale, the cinematographer is Zamarin Wahdat, and my fellow producer is Katherine Fisher. The goal is to populate our remaining team with as few people as needed to maintain an intensely intimate set and a set of all women. I will play the role of Amina and the other lead role, ‘Dunya,’ will be cast in the next two months. We will film in mid-April in Los Angeles. This is a dream project for me. Exploring this array of intimacy between two Muslim women on camera, is a very vulnerable and new iteration of my personal storytelling style. And this is a dream team and this story could only be told with this team of women filmmakers. I cannot wait to share this film with audiences around the world.

Thank yous

Contribute any amount or choose from the levels below.

• $25
  Enthusiastic shout-out on social media. ($25.00 is tax deductible.)
• $50
  Your name in a "SPECIAL THANKS" section of the film credits. ($50.00 is tax deductible.)
• $100
  All of the above, plus a digital download of the film. ($90.00 is tax deductible.)
• $250
  All of the above, plus a signed poster of the film (when available). ($220.00 is tax deductible.)
• $500
  All of the above, plus a 30-minute video call with Fawzia. ($470.00 is tax deductible.)
• $1000
  All of the above, plus separate recognition as "3AP Producer" in a special section of the film credits. ($970.00 is tax deductible.)
• $2500
  All of the above, plus a 30-minute video call with director Tchaiko Omawale. ($2470.00 is tax deductible.)
• $5000
  Prominent recognition as the film's ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, plus all of the above and a ticket to the world premiere or another screening (transport/lodging not provided). ($4920.00 is tax deductible.)

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Fawzia Mirza

Community Awardee

Fawzia Mirza is an award-winning actor, comedian, producer, and writer. She was selected as a 2015 3Arts Award recipient in Theater, named to the New City Magazine Film 50 and a “Top 10 Creative” by Indiewire magazine, one of Chicago's 'Rising Stars' …

View Fawzia Mirza's profile

• 3 updates
• 76 supporters

• Update 1: WE REACHED OUR GOAL!!

  Posted on March 23, 2019

   

  THANK YOU to 76 of y'all, we not only hit our 5k goal, we reached 2 of our stretch goals and raised $18,201!!!!!

  Not only is this amazing for us, it is the HIGHEST AMOUNT ANY PROJECT HAS EVER RAISED ON THE 3ARTS PLATFORM! Every dollar raised is going directly to paying crew and actors, renting gear and equipment, securing location and more!

  Stay tuned here for updates and on social media using the hashtag #5XAD - we have some exciting announcements in the coming weeks!

  On another note, it would be unconscionable as a Muslim artist for me not to talk about the tragedy in New Zealand. The fact that 50 Brown and Black lives were taken by a White Supremacist, that an intentional act of calculated terror was committed upon folks who look like my family, has been devastating. 

  Now, more than ever, this is a time when celebrating folks at the intersections is necessary. This film is telling a bold story of love and connection between two Muslim women of color, written by a Muslim women of color. Normalizing, celebrating, amplifying stories like this, love like this, intersectionality like this, is an essential way we can create safety, power and community for ALL of us. 

  peace. salaams. respect. love. gratitude. fawzia + the whole Five Times A Day Team.

  #5XAD

  Update 2: EP, CAST, CREW UPDATES & WEBSITE LIVE!

  Posted on April 10, 2019

   

  Exciting news to share w/ y'all! We are crewed up and ready to start filming April 20 & 21!

  We have been incredibly busy the last few weeks, in pre-production for 5XAD!! We have our entire crew and cast.

  Starring opposite me is the amazing CAROLYN MICHELLE SMITH who will play the role of "DUNYA", a Trinidadian-American, Julliard-trained, brilliant actor who will bring magic to the screen and this story!

  We have also secured our composer, DONIA JARRAR, a Muslim-Egyptian-Palestinian-American artist who just won the recent Opera Center of America Discovery Grant!

  And we are so very proud to share that we have two Executive Producers who have joined our team, allowing this film to soar. They are a powerhouse, queer couple, CHANI NICHOLAS and SONYA PASSI. Chani is a badass astrologer who believes the personal is political, art is magic, and that all should have access to the healing practices that we need. You can find some of her magic in her readings and her monthly Spotify cosmic playlists. Sonya has committed her life and work to activism, most recently having created Freefrom, an organization whose mission is to create pathways to financial security and long-term safety that support survivors of gender-based violence.

  We are truly full of grattiude to have assembled a team like this for this film. You can read more about the film, the team, and send us questions on our new website!

  www.5xadfilm.com

  peace. respect. love + gratitude.

  Fawzia Mirza & the 5XAD Team

  #5XAD

  Update 3: 5XAD IN POST PRODUCTION

  Posted on May 31, 2019

   

  Thanks to everyone for their generosity. We had an amazing 2-day shoot in April and are officially in post production! Our entire set was filled with magik and it couldn't have been possible without the unwaivering support of all of you.

   

  Stay tuned for More!

  peace. respect. love + gratitude.

  5XAD Team.

• Thank you to the following for contributing to 3Arts with the recommendation that we support this project.

  • jacqueline migliore

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Snehal Shah

  • Nabeela Rasheed

  • Michelina Fiordaliso

  • Sonal Taylor

  • Jen Richards

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  • Jennifer reeder

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  • Rachel Miller

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Gretchen Warthen

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Carl Cheng

  • Rosh Chef

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  • Sharmili Majmudar

  • Justin Young

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  • Anonymous Supporter

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  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Shaheen Sayani

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  • Dedi Felman

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