As part of the SFU-sponsored 2025-26 series on “Cultures of Belonging” hosted by SFU’s Dr. Amyn Sajoo, this event – in partnership with the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies – features an onstage conversation with Omar Mouallem on his short film, “Nader’s Girl.”
MENA Film Festival operates on a NOTAFLOF (No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds) basis. If the ticket price is a barrier for you or any of your guests, please let us know and we will issue your ticket, no questions asked.
This event is hosted in partnership with the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies at SFU. If you are an SFU community member, student, or staff, please contact tickets@menafilmfestival.com using your SFU email to get a complimentary community ticket!
Adapted from Saeed Teebi’s acclaimed collection, Her First Palestinian and Other Stories (Anansi, 2022), the film is a timely prompt on uncovering narratives about Palestinian belonging and identity in the western diaspora. No less intriguing is the challenge of translation from an elegant literary to a cinematic medium. Memory and heritage are perennial issues for migrant auteurs & authors alike — but also for the very idea of pluralist citizenship and belonging today. “With these glimpses of Palestinians living in a world bent against them,” notes the Canadian Literary Review about Teebi’s collection, “the terrain of Canadian literature has slightly fewer walls, guard towers, and checkpoints.” We extend that terrain with this premier BC screening of Mouallem’s film.
Amyn Sajoo is a scholar-in-residence and lecturer in the SFU Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. His work is at the interface of citizenship and human rights – and his teaching includes courses on migrant literature and political cinema. Dr. Sajoo was earlier affiliated with Cambridge and McGill universities, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), London.
Omar Mouallem is an Edmonton-based writer and filmmaker. Known for weaving together comedic human interest stories with broader social and historical themes, his work bridges literature, film, and journalism. Omar’s feature-length debut, The Lebanese Burger Mafia, premiered at Hot Docs in 2023, winning multiple awards, including Audience Choice at NorthwestFest and Best Documentary Screenplay at the Rosies. His other films, like Digging in the Dirt and Making Kayfabe, bring fresh perspectives to misunderstood places, whether by examining the mental toll of oil and gas labour or exploring the eccentric world of indie wrestling as a "gonzo journalist."
Omar’s journalism has earned multiple National Magazine Awards, with bylines in Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and The Guardian. His book, How Muslims Shaped the Americas, a travelogue exploring mosques across the Americas, was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 100 best books of 2021.
As a consultant and researcher for film and television, he also works with productions adapting nonfiction for screen, with clients including Scythia Films, Stellar Citizen, and Zaki Rose. Omar is represented by Innovative Artists.
