A Jordanian director and producer is battling stereotypes about Muslims with a virtual reality film about Islamic history.
“We have been producers and directors for over 10 years, but before we got to Disney, we never thought we would be working in the entertainment industry,” Sama Safi Bayazd told Anadolu (AA) agency.
Bayazid co-owns LightArt Media Productions and Light Art VR, a company she describes as “providing Islamic entertainment in virtual reality.”
The idea for a VR movie about Islamic culture came about when she and her husband visited a theme park. “We had a great time,” she said.
“What if we could tell our story and our legacy? And Islamic history in a very interesting way, using the advanced technologies we have developed for our software,” she said.
The company has made films in eight languages, including Turkish, four films in virtual reality about Islamic heritage, and will release the fifth and sixth next year.
The 33-year-old woman was in Istanbul for a two-day conference organized by the Association for Women and Democracy (KADEM), an Istanbul-based women’s rights group, and the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Services.
The theme of the 5th International Women and Justice Summit is “Cultural Norms and Women” and Anadolu Agency is the event’s global communications partner.
“I’m here to talk about the image of women and the representation of women in the media,” Bayezid told AA on the sidelines of the summit.
“I have been in the industry for over 12 years and while living in the United States, I have seen how the representation of women, especially Muslim women, in the media directly affects how we are treated, which can sometimes lead to Islamophobia,” she added.
Bayazid mentioned the importance of “telling our stories as Muslim producers and directors” and said that she would talk about the importance of telling stories about Muslim characters.
Bayazid founded Light Art VR with her husband Mohammed five years ago. “We decided we wanted to entertain Muslim audiences around the world,” she said.
They founded a virtual reality computer company to show films in 8k resolution “to take you back 1,400 years and witness the history of Islam,” she said.
The director from Washington also discussed the reaction of the public. “So we got two different responses because we had a Muslim audience and a non-Muslim audience.”
Muslim audiences “shout, laugh and cry” while watching the company’s films, she said.
Non-Muslim viewers reacted similarly, but were surprised to discover facts about Muslim culture that they did not know prior to watching the film.
“We do our projects in New York just to share our Islamic culture,” she said. “They liked it and they said, ‘We don’t know all this information because it’s so informative.’
“For example, they consider Islam to be a cruel religion. They told us that before we saw our virtual reality, they thought women were second-class citizens in Islam and under the control of men,” she said.
“This is one of the reasons to educate people and tell them about our Islamic heritage and culture, about our own stories and narratives,” Bayazid said. “Because we won’t let other people tell our story the way they do. Think. Our job is to tell it right.”
Please click to read the text of the information we have prepared in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 and to obtain information about the cookies used on our website, in accordance with applicable laws.
Please click to read the explanatory text we have prepared in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 and to obtain information about the cookies used on our website, in accordance with applicable laws.
Post time: Nov-09-2022