Story Writing Weekend

23rd-24th October 2022 | SPACE4, Finsbury Park

Raking, Aminah, Eliot and Natasha got together for two full days to identify the main narrative thread of the film. It was hard to narrow down on what the M2M story is really about – because it could be about so many things. But we all felt confident when we finally settled on the following:

A Hip-Hop Story:
Mecca2Medina and a New Islam in Britain

Mecca2Medina are a hip-hop band who emerged in the 1990s. Through their journey, they contributed to the development of a new British-Islamic culture.

Next steps are: writing the script, making a new trailer, and getting a producer on board! It’s all kicking off…

Showcase Event

Thursday 25th August 2022 | 6-8pm | SOAS

We recently organised an event to raise awareness about this film project and celebrate British-Islamic hip-hop today

It was such a lovely evening and great to hear all the artist and speakers discussing their experience. There was lots of food for thought and we need to try and build on this now, so to ensure it is kept going for the next generation!

– Aoni Hussain

We enjoyed beautiful live performances from Ahmad Ikhlas, MoYah, Khaled Siddiq and Mecca2Media themselves. The diversity of styles and cultures on stage was amazing to see.

We screened the 15 minute promotional film we’ve made so far (above). We were really pleased that we were able to include a 5 minute section about our time following Mecca2Medina to The Sufi Festival in Glasgow this July 2022. It was also wonderful to see director Eliot Gelberg-Wilson enjoy this work on the big screen for the first time.

We ended with a panel discussion chaired by Muneera Pilgrim with all the performers and Eliot. We discussed what British-Islamic Hip-Hop means to the performers today, why this film is important, the taboo of music in Islam and more.

When it was all over we mingled in the foyer of the lecture theatre until the building closed!

————————————————-

Event photography by @coffee.and.dhikr