Sorry for the delay. I’m back in Ann Arbor, Michigan to start the second year of the PhD program. I spent the entire summer in southern California conducting research and spending time with friends and family. Next week, I begin teaching as a Graduate Student Instructor and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Teaching is why I’m in the boonies (Michigan), teaching is why I’m pursuing a PhD. I first taught as an undergrad at Berkeley and it was a remarkable experience. I hope it’ll bring about the same sort of joy for me. Anyway, now that I’m back in Michigan and since the “Ground Zero Mosque” issue is still going on, I think it’s fitting to post this amazing trailer. Enjoy and here’s to a new academic school year 🙂
Here’s the YouTube video summary of the trailer:
“Fordson” is a feature length documentary film that follows four talented high school football players from Dearborn Michigan as they gear up for their big senior year rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, a month when Muslims traditionally fast every day from sunrise to sundown.
The story is set against the backdrop of the stunningly beautiful Fordson High School, a public high school built by Henry Ford in 1922, which was once all white, but now boasts a 98% Arab population. As our team readies itself to play its affluent, cross town rival, we unearth the adversity faced by a community that is desperately holding onto its Islamic faith and trying to gain acceptance from their fellow U.S. citizens in post 9-11 America.
Through the eyes of the team, their coaches, and their fans, we get an unprecedented glimpse inside the lives of a community that is home to the largest concentration of Arabs in any city outside of the Middle East, and their determination to hold on to the American Dream.
You can contact the producers at fordsonthemovie@gmail.com
