Deeyah Kahn, Director

“My creative decision is to try and operate out of empathy” states documentary film director and human rights activist Deeyah Khan, born on August 7, 1977.  She began her career as a singer at 7 years old in Norway, where she grew up, performing live on television and on the stage. She faced death threats and violence from the Muslim community for performing music as a woman from a Muslim background in Norway, forcing her to move to London where she continued to compose and perform music. However, she later turned to documentary filming with her directorial debut in 2012 of her documentary Banaz A Love Story, which won her an Emmy award. Her other documentaries include Jihad A Story of The Others, and White Right Meeting the Enemy. She has stated to that she hopes to “create the space for empathy, dialogue and better understanding, leaving less room for stereotypes” with her films. She is also the founder of Fuuse Films, which produces the diverse stories of women, minorities, and marginalized peoples and sister-hood magazine, which amplifies the voices of Muslim women.