A Jihad For Love (2007) Directed by Parvez Sharma Thursday - January 24 - 6:30 p.m. Fourteen centuries after the revelation of the holy Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims. A Jihad for Love looks beyond a war-torn present to reclaim the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to ‘strive in the path of God’ - allowing its subjects to move beyond the narrow concept of Jihad as holy war. Director Parvez Sharma is scheduled to be present. (HD Cam. 81 min. Not Rated.) Parvez Sharma is a Muslim gay filmmaker born and raised in India. He has degrees in English Literature, Mass Communication, Broadcast Journalism, and Film and Video Production. He has worked as a broadcast journalist for Asia’s premier news network and a print journalist for several prominent Indian newspapers. As an activist, he was instrumental in setting up the first organized LGBT effort in West Bengal and speaks internationally on issues crucial to LGBT communities in a Muslim context. Events are sponsored by the Islamic Studies Program, Madhusudan and Kiran C. Dhar India Studies Program, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services (GLBTSSS), The Kinsey Institute, and IU Cinema. Special thanks to Wafa Amayreh. Jorgensen Lecture with Parvez Sharma Thursday - January 24 3:00 p.m. Screenings free, but ticketed, unless noted.* The Believers (2012) Directed by Monica Long Ross and Clayton Brown Monday - January 28 - 7:00 p.m. The strange story of “cold fusion” begins in 1989 when two respected scientists ruin their careers by announcing they can solve all the world’s energy problems using batteries and seawater; “Cold Fusion” is born. Twenty some years later a band of scientists, a radio personality and a high school student are confident that cold fusion will save the world. They are The Believers. Directors Monica Long Ross & Clayton Brown are scheduled to be present. (HD Cam. 80 min. Not Rated.) Clayton Brown is a musician and filmmaker whose films have been screened across the U.S. His film, Galileo’s Grave won the IFP/Chicago Production Fund grant. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he received an MFA in film from Northwestern University, where he now teaches film production. Monica Long Ross’s short films have been screened internationally and her published theatrical plays have been produced around the U.S. She received an MFA in film from Northwestern University. Along with her work with 137 Films, she teaches at Columbia College, Chicago and is an associate director of The Arizona Women’s Theatre Company. 50 Other Films with Guests There will be academic events on January 28 in support of the film screening. Visit the IU Cinema website for further details. Events are sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and IU Cinema. Special thanks to Tom Gieryn. Tickets: (812) 855-1103