Blazing the Trail for Muslim Women Filmmakers & Creatives
As a brown Muslim woman born and raised in Bristol, England, I have always seen the world through the lens of my faith. My upbringing in an immigrant family from Bangladesh was different from that of my peers, and even when I was young, I naturally found myself growing closer to my faith. Because I wanted to be surrounded by other Muslims, I chose to attend Islamic school when I reached high school and to wear hijab when I was young.
I was also drawn to any kind of representation that I saw on TV and in movies of Muslims and people of color. Even when I saw someone who was dark-haired rather than blonde, I latched onto her as a character who looked a little bit like me, who seemed familiar to me. Unfortunately, many of the stories about these characters perpetuated stereotypes of my community, always portraying immigrants as uneducated taxi drivers or presenting South Asian cuisine as foreign and strange.
When I reached university, I knew that I wanted to study something creative. I loved art and storytelling from the time I was a child, and when I took a filmmaking course in university, I realized that film production is a tremendously powerful way of writing and telling stories.
After graduation, it was difficult to break into the industry—especially as a young Muslim woman of color—but I managed to secure an internship at an independent TV production company. Since then, I’ve worked my way up from an intern to an associate producer.
As an associate producer, I support producers and directors in creating their films or TV shows. This role requires that I do a bit of everything, from planning the project to making the content to editing the final product. I’ve become a Mabby of all trades, and I love expressing my creativity in whatever way I can.
I’ve never met another Muslim or Bangladeshi woman in this role, so I take my responsibility as a representative of my identities and my culture very seriously. When I studied film, I set out to make stories that people like me can relate to.
Whatever project I’m part of—whether it’s a light-hearted children’s show or a hard-hitting documentary—I serve as an ambassador for responsible, ethical storytelling that is compassionate toward marginalized communities. When a director wants to make their narrative about how Islam oppresses women, for example, I consider it my responsibility to speak up and call out the stereotypes that harm our communities. There’s a misconception that Muslim women don’t have a say, but my voice is always the loudest in any room.
I’ve found that the lack of representation that I noticed on-screen as a young girl mirrors the off-screen reality. People of color in the film industry have to work ten times harder than their white counterparts to prove themselves worthy of any opportunity. And then, once we get a seat at the table, we often find ourselves wondering if we’re there as talented professionals or as tokens. Production companies should want diversity on their team not because they have to tick a box or fill a quota but because BIPOC, Muslim, and women producers bring much-needed stories and skills to the table.
Every day that I turn on the TV and don’t see anyone who looks like me, I’m inspired to keep going. There are billions of Muslims in the world.
We all have voices—surely we should have a platform too. But we have to keep shouting about representation and fighting for our stories in our corners of the world so that the next generation has more than we do.
One of my favorite moments as a producer was working on Next Level Chef, a reality TV show with Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais, who mentor up-and-coming chefs in cooking challenges. One of these chefs was a Bengali woman, Mehreen Karim, who shared how food is a fundamental part of her culture. I related to her and was so proud to help put her story on a platform seen by millions.
Perhaps the most powerful moment of on-screen representation I’ve been part of was working with a Muslim woman who shared the exact same name as me. She wears hijab like me, and she’s unapologetically herself like me. But what I love most about her story is that it wasn’t about her being a Muslim woman at all. In fact, it was about her day-to-day job as a nurse with the National Health Service (NHS). Of course she represents her community and her faith, but there being no commentary about her identities allowed for her own story to shine through with a sense of normalcy and authenticity. She is ordinary in the most special way. If I had seen someone like her on TV when I was a young girl, I might have thought that I should pursue nursing.
Eventually I hope to have full creative control over what I do and produce my own content, tell my own stories. My dream is to establish my own production company where the producers share identities, cultures, and lived experiences with the on-screen talent. I also want to create a network of Muslims and people of color in the film industry so that the next generation of producers and filmmakers can find their way without the same struggles that I faced. My career isn’t just for myself, because the more that I progress, the more opportunities that I can give to young, up-and-coming creatives.
I hope that someday soon I see more women like me both behind the camera and in front of it. I’m looking forward to the day when I can go to the theater and see an action movie or a science fiction movie that just happens to feature a Muslim woman, with the names of Muslim women in the credits.
I’ve had other Muslim women say to me, “I wish I could do what you’re doing.” But you can! We hear a lot of different messages about what Muslim women can and cannot do, but I want to remind my sisters—we are capable of whatever we set our minds to, by the grace and guidance of Allah.
Muslim women are creative, expressive, and innovative. We pave the way for ourselves.
Mabby Alam is a Bangladeshi Muslim born and bred in Bristol, UK. From an early age she found herself challenging the system and abolishing the stereotypes about her community. Driven by her creation ambition, Mabby discovered a love of filmmaking in university, and she currently works as an assistant producer within factual entertainment TV. She is passionate about advocating for projects that support BIPOC representation both on-and off-screen.