Amplifying the work of Muslim artists in pop culture.

Mariam Zaidi is a South Asian filmmaker, film programmer and arts manager based in Toronto. Almost two decades ago, Mariam moved to Canada on her own, prompted by an interest in filmmaking. Struggling as a newcomer to find her footing motivated her to work in organizations that supported the growth of emerging artists, and to find spaces that had a focus on gender equity and better inclusion in screen-based media.

Her directorial debut Safar: Journey (2014) went on to premiere at a number of festivals world-wide and won Best Short Documentary at the We Care Film Festival in the UAE. In 2017 her short film Over Time received the WIFT & DGC award at Reel Asian Film Festival.

Alongside her independent film work, Mariam is a Senior Programmer at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and previously oversaw the Breakthroughs Film Festival as Executive Director. Most recently she worked on the distribution and impact campaigns for the Canadian films, Academy-Award Nominated, To Kill a Tiger (TIFF, 2023) and An Unfinished Journey (Hot Docs, 2024).

Mariam completed a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Aizzah Fatima is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, playwright, comedian and ex-Google engineer. She has been featured on NPR, The Guardian, Woman’s Hour (BBC), The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time Out, The New York Times and The Huffington Post.

Aizzah starred in, produced and wrote the award-winning feature film Americanish which was released by Sony International for worldwide distribution in November 2023. She is currently recurring as Medical Examiner Annemarie Mercer on Law & Order (NBC). Other TV acting credits include New Amsterdam (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS), High Maintenance (HBO), The Code (CBS), Mr. Robot (USA Network), The Good Wife (CBS).

She received a Becoming America grant through Pop Culture Collab and is a recipient of The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art grant with Brooklyn Children’s Theatre.

Aizzah received her Master in Fine Arts in Writing for Film & TV from Emerson College and is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Cadar Mohamud is a first-generation Somali Canadian storyteller and the founder of The Digital Sisterhood (TDS), a media platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of Muslim women.

Established in August 2020, TDS aims to unite Muslim women globally by creating spaces for authentic storytelling and challenging prevailing stereotypes about their lives and identities. Cadar’s vision for TDS is to empower Muslim women to reclaim their narratives and share their stories, thereby countering the often one-dimensional portrayals of their experiences in mainstream media.

Under her leadership, The Digital Sisterhood has evolved into a chart-topping podcast since its inception in 2021, garnering over 10 million listeners and a significant social media following. The podcast addresses crucial topics such as mental health, domestic violence, and identity, aiming to foster community and inspire change through powerful narratives.

Cadar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Equity Studies from York University, which she completed in 2020.

Sikandar Atiq is the Chair of the Mosquers Film Festival, one of the world’s largest film and arts festivals for Muslim creatives. He is also the President of Next Equities, a growth and venture capital fund.

Professionally, Sikandar previously worked at Goldman Sachs and has had several successful entrepreneurial ventures and exits. He has been selected as a 2023 Edifier by Edify Magazine and was named a Finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He also serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Business Growth and Opportunities in Edmonton and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Sikandar has been involved with the Mosquers since day one—first as an amateur filmmaker, and more recently on the Board. As Chair of the Mosquers for the past five years, Sikandar has overseen its growth from a local grassroots film festival to a globally recognized and respected arts and film festival with attendance, submissions, and exposure from across North America and the world.

Sikandar received a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from the University of Alberta, and MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business where he was an InSITE Fellow and the President of the Stern Private Equity Club.

Timaj Garad is an Ethiopian-Harari multi-disciplinary artist, community organizer and arts funder.

Previously, as the Senior Manager, Outreach & Access at Toronto Arts Council (TAC), Timaj supported outreach and access to initiatives. She has led development of and now manages the Black Arts Program—a dedicated funding program for Black artists, and Black-led, Black-serving, and Black-focused artist collectives and arts organizations.

Timaj is also a practicing spoken word artist, singer, and songwriter, performing, facilitating workshops, and hosting arts-based events both locally and globally. Some notable events featuring performances include Muslimfest, Reviving the Islamic Spiriting, the Being ME conference, Aga Museum’s Moonverse showcase and approximately 300 other events and engagements within the Muslim community and beyond.

Timaj believes in the transformative power of the arts to strengthen communities and is deeply passionate about creating greater access and amplifying the arts in Toronto’s underserved communities.

Dr. Zainub Verjee CM is a prominent advocate for art as a public good. In recognition of her over four decades of leadership in cultural policy, cultural diplomacy, cultural planning and institution-building and shaping Canada’s arts landscape, she was appointed to the Order of Canada.

In 1989, she co-founded and co-directed In Visible Colours: An International Women of Colour and Third World Women Film/Video Festival and Symposium. This is regarded as “the critical and foundation film festival in Canada”.

As a scholar, she has been part of many research projects and think-tanks to strengthen post-secondary art education in Canada and Internationally as well as published extensively. In addition, she has been the recipient of many funding awards and facilitated over 100 assessments. A 2020 recipient of the Governor General’s Visual and Media Arts Award, Zainub is celebrated for her contributions as an artist, curator, writer, and public intellectual.

Recognizing her extraordinary contribution to arts and culture, she was conferred with honorary doctorates by OCAD University and NSCAD University, as well as Simon Fraser University and University of Victoria. She is Senior Fellow, Massey College, University of Toronto, a Fellow at McLaughlin College, York University and currently serves as Executive Director of Ontario Association of Art Galleries.

Ariel Nasr (he/him) is an award-winning director, producer, and writer known for his work across documentary, fiction, and interactive media.

As a producer, he was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for Buzkashi Boys, a fiction film shot in Kabul, and has produced acclaimed works at the National Film Board of Canada, including Stolen Time (2023) and Perfecting the Art of Longing (2021). His feature documentary, The Forbidden Reel, won the 2020 Hot Docs Audience Award. Other projects have included the Canadian Screen Award-winning The Boxing Girls of Kabul and the award-winning interactive documentary, Kabul Portraits.

As a writer, Ariel was awarded the 2024 TIFF CBC Films Screenwriter Award for his feature fiction screenplay, Daudistan. A citizen of Canada, Afghanistan, and the USA, Ariel’s work is deeply influenced by his multicultural background and commitment to telling impactful stories.

Elamin Abdelmahmoud is the host of CBC’s daily arts, entertainment, and pop culture show Commotion.

He is an award-winning culture writer who has written for the New York Times, BuzzFeed News, the Globe and Mail, and others. Elamin is the author of the No. 1 best-selling memoir Son of Elsewhere, a New York Times notable book and a Globe and Mail 100 book.

Farah Merani is a graduate of the Drama Centre London. She has performed on stage and on screen across North America, throughout Europe and in Russia.

Some of her screen credits include: the new Quantum Leap on NBC, Season 3 of AppleTV’s SEE with Jason Momoa, Shadowhunters, and the video games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Hitman 2. She is also a member of the Ensemble Shakespeare Theatre in Pasadena.

Presently, she is developing multiple television series, including The Painted Muse as a 2023 Fellow of the Sundance Episodic Lab and is a current member of The Circle at Rideback Rise. As well, she stars in the recent award-winning video game, Thirsty Suitors, for which she received a Best Performer nomination at the 2024 DICE Awards.

Farah is represented by The Characters Agency and managed by World Builder Entertainment.

Tendisai Cromwell is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary designer and researcher with a focus on interactive and immersive experiences. She provides user experience (UX) research services to a college and leads the UX design for an environmentally-focused virtual reality experience.

Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Tendisai is a committed student and practitioner of nature-inspired design, employing strategies and principles found in nature to solve design problems. Under the guidance of biomimicry practitioners, she has explored the application of this design process to virtual reality.

Tendisai comes to immersive tech and UX after a long and varied career in the arts. She served as an executive director of a film festival and most recently immersed herself in the creative lives of artists as the host of a community podcast. She, herself, is an artist and lifelong writer of fiction and essays. Tendisai has and continues to engage in artistic and creative collaborations, often involving nature.

Urvah Khan is a groundbreaking Canadian-Pakistani musician, activist, and cultural provocateur. A pioneer in blending rap and rock in Pakistan, she defines her genre as “Scrap”—a fusion of heavy guitars, South Asian influences, and raw rebellion.

Based in Toronto, Urvah is the founder of ScrapFest, a music and arts festival amplifying queer, trans, and underground voices, and Muslim Pride Toronto, a pioneering initiative for LGBTQ+ Muslims. From reclaiming the Azaan to defying societal norms through music, Urvah’s fearless activism and boundary-pushing artistry have gained global recognition from BBC, CBC, and Vice.

With six albums released and a seventh on the way, she continues to reshape the cultural landscape and champion freedom of expression.