Two Gods
Short film In Production
Editor
Colin Nusbaum
Director
Zeshawn Ali
Writer, Producer
Aman Ali
Doc Society helped with
Went to Good Pitch
In Newark, NJ, a casket shop sits on the corner of North 15th and William Streets. Behind its walls are piles of wood and coatings of sawdust. Here we see Hanif Muhammad. The casket maker. The mentor. The mortician.
Growing up, Hanif found himself in and out of prison and a drug habit that shrouded his life in darkness. When he was released from prison for the last time, he met Rashad. He told Hanif about his work as a casket maker and the funerals he performed- the janazahs (Islamic ritual of washing the deceased before burial). Rashad said, according to Islam, with every body washing you perform leads to 40 sins forgiven. Here was Hanif's chance for redemption.
Furquan is a 12-year-old who lives down the street from the casket shop. He learned how to survive coming from a rough home. One day, he saw Hanif loading caskets onto a truck. Looking for a quick buck, Furquan asked if they needed help. The two quickly form a bond.
We also meet another kid Hanif works with, Naz. He’s 17 and baby-faced but carries himself like a person twice his age and with an air of confidence. He’s been arrested a couple of times for small offenses. But in the confines of his bedroom, lined with pictures of loved ones on the walls, he seems truly vulnerable.
Both Naz and Furquan's lives go through a series of hardships. Furquan's home life becomes more turbulent while Naz becomes increasingly fearful of his life on the block. Hanif fears he has failed as a mentor and begins to fall through a downward spiral himself. During each of our character's darkest moments, we see the adversity they must face in order to pull through. And the path they learn to go on to find their redemption.
This film takes what we know about a coming of age story- grappling with the pressures of family, heartbreak and first time experiences - and adds layers of spirituality, uncertainty and vulnerability. To confront mortality and loss while your life is supposed to just begin is a complicated journey for Furquan and Naz. For Hanif, it’s about finally coming into his own after years of searching for purpose.
Crew
Colin Nusbaum
Editor
Colin Nusbaum is a film editor whose work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Festival De Cannes, Tribeca, and many others. Most recently, Colin edited The Unafraid by Heather Courtney and Anayansi Prado. The film premiered at the 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where it won the Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights. Today, Colin lives, works, bicycles around, and practices Aikido in Brooklyn, New York.
Zeshawn Ali
Director
Originally from Ohio, Zeshawn studied film at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Since graduating, he's directed a narrative short film called “Shallows” and also directed for the documentary series “30 Mosques in 30 Days”. His first feature length documentary, "Two Gods", about a Muslim casket maker in Newark is currently in post-production and has recently received support from ITVS, Ford Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute, Points North Institute and HotDocs.
Aman Ali
Writer, Producer
Aman Ali is an award winning storyteller in New York City and one of the most engaging social media personalities in the Muslim community today. He's made appearances on dozens of media outlets such as the New York Times, BuzzFeed, CNN, NBC’s Today Show, HBO, BBC, and NPR to talk about the shenanigans of being an awkward brown kid from Ohio. He first shot to fame for being the co-creator of the social media phenomenon 30 Mosques in 30 Days, a 25,000 mile road trip he took to all 50 states in the U.S. with the mission of telling groundbreaking and profound stories about Muslims in America.
