CREATIVE TEAM

We are a diverse team of filmmakers and storytellers united by our desire to foster a greater understanding of American Muslims at this pivotal moment in United States history. With our combined expertise, we bring a wealth of experience in producing acclaimed non-fiction content for public media, commercial television, and digital platforms.

  • MAYTHA ALHASSEN

    Executive Producer

    Maytha is a journalist, poet, community organizer, and scholar whose work bridges the worlds of media engagement, justice advocacy, academic research, and artistic expression. She produces and writes for the award-winning Hulu series RAMY (as a Co-Executive Producer), is a Pop Culture Collaborative Pluralist Visionaries Fellow, TED resident, a Harvard Religion and Public Life Art and Pop Culture Fellow from 2021-2024, and currently a lecturer for Stanford University Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. As a journalist, Maytha worked as an on-air guest host for Al Jazeera English, also field reporting for such outlets as CNN, Huffington Post, Mic, and The Baffler, and opinion pieces for the Boston Review and LA Review of Books. She also co-edited a collection of stories from the 2011 Arab Uprisings Demanding Dignity: Young Voices from the Front Lines of the Arab Revolutions," wrote the report "Haqq and Hollywood: Illuminating 100 Years of Muslim Tropes and Traps and How to Transform Them," and numerous academic articles and book chapters. In 2017 she received her Ph.D. in American Studies & Ethnicity from USC, an M.A. in Anthropology from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic & Islamic Studies from UCLA.

  • ZAHEER ALI

    Executive Producer

    Zaheer is an educator and oral historian with over a decade of experience directing nationally recognized public history and cultural heritage initiatives. He has been a Senior Fellow of the Pillars Fund Muslim Narrative Change Cohort and a recipient of the Open Society Foundation’s Soros Equality Fellowship for his work on leveraging the power of storytelling and listening for social change. As the oral historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) (now the Center for Brooklyn History), he directed the Muslims in Brooklyn documentary history and arts initiative and co-produced and co-hosted FLATBUSH + MAIN, an award-winning monthly podcast that explored Brooklyn’s past and present through scholarly discussions, historical archives, and oral histories. His work on Muslim histories in the United States has been featured in both print and broadcast media, including four documentaries: CNN’s WITNESSED: THE ASSASSINATION OF MALCOLM X (2015), and Netflix’s WHO KILLED MALCOLM X? (2020), BLOOD BROTHERS: MALCOLM X & MUHAMMAD ALI (2021), and season 2 of HIGH ON THE HOG (2023).

  • GRAHAM JUDD

    Executive Producer & Project Lead

    Graham is a documentary filmmaker who has produced films for the BBC, ABC, National Geographic, History, and Discovery. For PBS, Graham has developed and delivered several landmark documentary series including the award-winning AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES series with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., For the WGBH FRONTLINE strand, Graham directed the two-hour special MUSLIMS, which highlighted the diversity of belief and practice among Muslims globally. In 2021, Graham co-founded TIMESTAMP MEDIA with Harvard historian Vincent Brown. Focused on creating innovative history content, TIMESTAMP MEDIA has already produced critically-acclaimed projects for Harvard University and PBS Digital Studios.

  • MAFAZ AL-SUWAIDAN

    Producer & Writer

    Mafaz is a writer, researcher, and educator specializing in religion with a focus on Islam and modern thought. She is passionate about education, both in the classroom and on public media platforms. She holds a Master of Theological Study degree in Islamic Studies, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, and a Bachelor of Journalism degree. She is currently completing a PhD in Religion with a secondary in African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

  • ZEHRA REHMAN

    Co-Producer

    Zehra brings to the project several years of experience working on the popular PBS series FINDING YOUR ROOTS with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In 2019, she researched and wrote a series of short films for the Webby-winning online documentary series BLACK HISTORY IN TWO MINUTES (OR SO,) also with Henry Louis Gates Jr.  Zehra began her career conducting research and teaching international relations and politics at universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2014, she moved to New York, where she transitioned into journalism and documentary, focusing on the stories of minorities and marginalized groups.

  • BEYZA BOYACIOGLU

    Lead Editor & Writer

    Beyza is an award-winning documentarian and film editor from Istanbul, currently based in Brooklyn. Her work includes the feature documentaries IIN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM (directed by Vivek Bald with support from PBS & Ford Foundation) and BLACK LIVES MATTER: A GLOBAL RECKONING - ITALY (directed by Nicole Bozorgmir for VICE Media). Most recently, Beyza was an editor on Season 2 of COUNTER SPACE by VICE Media featuring chef Sophia Roe. Beyza’s clients have included BBC, VICE, American Express, Harvard University, MIT, Vivid Story, Swissnex, Creative Time, athenahealth and Eyebeam. Between 2019-2020, Beyza was a Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room mentee.

  • SALIMAH EL-AMIN

    Consulting Producer

    Salimah is an experienced documentary filmmaker working at Ken Burns’ Florentine Films. She is co-producer on Florentine’s latest PBS film about the life and work of Ernest Hemingway. In 2019, Salimah was producer on COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, a documentary directed by Lynn Novick, which took an intimate look at a highly successful college program for men and women incarcerated in the New York State prison system. Salimah was also a co-producer on Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s THE VIETNAM WAR, where she received an Emmy® Award in Research for her work.

  • KHAULA MALIK

    Consulting Producer/Director

    Khauia is a Pakistani-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work centers on womanhood and intersectional identity. Her short film HOW THE AIR FEELS won the National Board of Review Student Grant Award and the Special Jury Award at the Sharjah Film Platform. She associate-produced the award-winning feature documentary OF LOVE & LAW. Khaula is a 2020 fellow for the Tribeca CHANEL Through Her Lens program and the Cine Qua Non-Lab. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, BFI’s Sight & Sound Magazine, and on Netflix.

  • INES FARAG

    Archival Producer

    Ines is a New York-based archival producer with a wide range of projects under her belt. Hailing from D.C. where she was raised by her American and Egyptian journalist parents, in-depth research on documentary films was a natural career path. Her projects include O.J.: Made in America and The Last Dance for ESPN, Fauci for National Geographic, Reconstruction: America After the Civil War for PBS, Long Strange Trip for Amazon, and Egypt: Revolution Interrupted? about the Arab Spring in Egypt. Her most recent project, STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A. for HBO, is premiering at SXSW 2024.

  • SARAH SHEIKH BRIDGE

    Graphic Designer

    Sarah is a skilled motion graphics designer and editor based in L.A. With a passion for creativity and a keen eye for detail, Sarah has honed her craft to bring dynamic and visually stunning designs to life. With 10+ years of experience, she has worked with major names in the industry including Amazon, The Atlantic, Converse, Google, Meta, Nike, and PBS.

  • CHRISTINE RICARD

    Producton Manager

    Christine Ricard is a versatile digital-first producer with a wide range of project experience, both fiction and non-fiction. She is now in-house for Timestamp Media, where she previously served on the production team for documentaries including THE BIGGER PICTURE and HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THE DAYS OF SLAVERY?. Prior to Timestamp, Christine held production roles at CNN, the Smithsonian Channel, HuffPost, and MasterClass.

  • AAKEF KHAN

    Production and Research Intern

    Aakef is pursuing his BFA in Digital Filmmaking from Rutgers University - Mason Gross, where he is gaining both an artistic and technical talent in film. Aakef started his journey creating a short narrative film for his high school festival, where it won first place and secured his seat in the Rutgers program. Aakef brings strong motivation and curiosity to the project, blending his passions for American history and film production.