It’s nigh on impossible not to really like Amrou Al-Kadhi an out and proud queer Iraqi drag queen / activist / writer / actor / journalist / filmmaker. He is also disarmingly charming to boot. The London-based founder and star of Denim the drag superstar group has always been such an articulate advocate about being true to oneself, which has now taken on such a greater sense of urgency these days.
He has a new project that he is currently working on which really caught queerguru’s attention. He has written and directed a new film called Run(a)way Arab. It’s an autobiographical short based on the relationship between an 8 year old genderqueer Arab boy and his Muslim mother, interweaved with the later story of an Arab drag queen no longer in touch with his mother. The film explores the relationship between drag culture and Middle Eastern heritage, and is part of a “triptych” of shorts on intersectional identity that he has ben have working hard on with producer Savannah James-Bayly.
Like so many queer indie filmmakers Al-Kadhi has self-funded the project and maxed out his credit cards in the process. The result is a film that has impressively high production values, but more important than that, it has a ‘message’ that we feel really needs to be shared, as Al-Kadhi is keen to show the world a sensitive and queer side of Arab identity that has yet to be represented on screen.
They need help in the post-production so that the finished movie can reach the audiences it so deserves to find. In terms of filmmaking, it is not a vast amount of money, and is very easily reachable if people just pitched in the odd £ (or even $) or two, and of course you’ll get more than Al-Kadhi’s love and thanks, but all sorts of drag rewards too.
Take a moment to check out their Kickstarter page which will tell you so much more about Run(a)way Arab and you’ll soon see why we think it so deserves your support https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1602418315/runaway-arab.
P.S. Check out this interview queerguru had with Amrou Al-Kadhi earlier this year.
