Two Gods

NEW DOCS

It’s not always easy to recognize a community’s pillars. In an area of Newark, New Jersey, where too many funerals commemorate tragically short lives, Hanif works as a casket maker and ritual body washer. He’s committed to his work and to his Islamic faith. He’s also a steady mentor to two young men: Naz, a boy at the precipice of manhood in a place where career and peer group are life-and-death choices, and Furquan, a tween with a complicated homelife whose grandmother wants him to move to be with family in rural North Carolina. Sensitive black-and-white footage shows a neighborhood’s struggle with never-ending grief and Hanif’s struggle simply to maintain a middle-class existence against long odds. He emerges as a complex character, gathering reservoirs of mental, emotional, and spiritual strength that he can lend to those he loves.  MM

Director

Zeshawn Ali

Producer

Aman Ali

Editor

Colin Nusbaum

Cinematographer

Zeshawn Ali

Additional Cinematography

Emir Fils-Aime

Release Year

2020

Festival Year

2020

Country

United States

Run Time

79 minutes

Subtitled

No