September 3, 2025 • 25 mins
In this episode of Filmmaking Conversations, I sit down with Dr. Ali, the visionary founder of Fam Cinema. His platform is more than just a streaming service—it’s a movement designed to empower marginalized voices, provide family-friendly viewing, and give filmmakers fairer opportunities to share their work. We talk about:
W: famcinema.com
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- The childhood experience that inspired Dr. Ali to challenge stereotypes in film.
- Why representation matters—and how media can heal and empower communities.
- The values and criteria Fam Cinema uses to curate powerful, authentic films.
- The obstacles of launching a values-driven streaming platform in today’s industry.
- Why Fam Cinema’s pay-per-view model is a better deal for filmmakers.
- The exciting launch of Fam Cinema’s very first global film festival, open to features, shorts, and animated projects from around the world.
W: famcinema.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to
ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Welcome back to Filmmaking Conversations with me your host Damn Swaby,
and today I have a truly special guest joining me,
Dr Ali Shiatta, the founder of Famcinema. Now, as filmmakers
and film lovers, we all know the power of storytelling
by dot. Gailey's journey really struck me. For him, growing
(00:36):
up in the United States, he saw firsthand how Muslims
and other marginalized communities were consistently portrayed as villains or
outsiders in mainstream media. Instead of accepting that, he decided
to change the narrative. That decision gave birth to Famcinema,
a platform that's more than just another streaming service. It's
(00:56):
a space where families can watch films together about why
worrying about harmful or inappropriate content. It's a space where
authentic voices from marginalized communities can finally be heard. And
it's a space where filmmakers aren't buried under hundreds of
thousands of titles, but instead get the spotlight their work
deserves in our conversation, we dive into the challenges of
(01:20):
creating a value driven streaming platform, how FAM Cinema balances
entertainment with education, and why media can be such a
powerful tool for empowerment and healing. Doctor Ali Shiatta shares
some exciting news about Famcinema, its very first global film festival,
(01:43):
which opens the door for filmmakers from all over the
world to get involved. This is a conversation about representation, resilience,
and redefining the role of filming our lives and I'm
proud to share it with you all today. Ye Dror Ali,
how are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I'm wonderful, Thank you. It's a pleasure to be on
the show with you today.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
And it's a pleasure having you on someone who's bold
and thoughtful and come up with such an important quality
idea FAM Cinema. So I appreciate you taking the time
to come on the podcast. Doctor your background bridges medicine,
parenthood and entrepreneurship. Can you share a defining moment that
crystallized your vision for FAM Cinema.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Honestly, the moment was when I was a child, and
so as a child growing up in the United States,
and this is something that's been shared by a large
number of people, a lot of Muslims growing up in
western countries around the world, and honestly a lot of
marginalized people. Is that as we grew up in these
countries and we're integrating in those communities, what we noticed
(02:51):
is that a lot of the programming that we grew
up on, a lot of the movies that we loved,
a lot of the television shows that we loved, that
those shows margin analized us. That they basically in the
case of Muslims for example, that they they made us
look like the villain. They made us look like the
enemy all the time. And so it was it was
very challenging growing up and one thing to kind of,
(03:16):
I guess, engage with these types of programs. But then
when they made you and the people that you know,
who you came for, where you came from, they made
you the enemy, it was very hard.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I could imagine, very very hard. And I really could
imagine because you can see what I look like.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
So we share. I figured you would to be able
to relate to it.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
And so and that's why I say, like a lot
of times people see with ham cinema, they see that
this is you know, they look at and they say, oh,
this is for Muslims.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I'm like, no, this is for marginalized people. But that's
my background. That's my experience, is that I have the
experience of being you know, a Muslim.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So I can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I'm not going to It's not authentic for me to
talk about, for example, an Asian person or you know,
a black person to say that, Okay, you know this
is how their experience was, because I didn't live it,
but we all share that. We all have that experience
of being marginalized and having someone else from a different
background try to tell our story or try to, you know,
(04:20):
try to try to represent us in the writings or
in their programs.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
FAM Cinema is highly selective in its programming, which is great,
but what are the core values in criteria that guide
your creation process and how do you balance artistic merit
with educational and ethical considerations.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So, first of all, what we're looking for is family values.
That's that's the overriding theme of what Famous Cinema does.
So it is partly, you know, the opportunity for marginalized
people to share their stories, but it's also an opportunity
for families to be able to sit together.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So the way we envisioned it was similar to going
to a cinema.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
The experience of going to a cinema is that we
wanted people to have an opportunity to sit together as
families and be able to watch a program without there
being inappropriate content that makes it an adult movie or
only a kid's movie or something along those lines. And
so those are the two primaries, you know, criteria that
we're looking for. And then beyond that, of course, we
(05:25):
want to look for something that's you know, we do curate.
We don't just take anything that's submitted to the platform.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
We do want to curate something that's.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You know, that we feel is noteworthy, something that's remarkable,
something that makes a statement, something that's valuable. We really
believe that Again, just like you, you're going to be
selective when you go to a movie cinema in terms
of what you're going to watch. That we want something
that's memorable, is you're going to walk aw it's it's
worthy of discussion, worthy of being remembered.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
How do you measure value in a family film?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
The value is, of course that's going to be a
very subjective thing, and so we hope that we get
it right, but we we try very hard, you know,
to be very inclusive first of all. And so it's
essentially it's more of some things that would make a
movie not eligible or not something that we would feel
(06:19):
in tune with on on our platform. So it's more
of things that people you know, if they if they
had inappropriate content, or if they stereotyped, or if they
or something that just appears to be in generic. And
so so many of the movies that we see today
are just very generic. It's a it's a story that's
driven by you know, unfortunately by shock value or by
(06:41):
you know, disgusting jokes or you know, nudity or sexuality
or something like that, and you find that the story
itself is very lacking. And that's one of the hopes
that we have with fram cinemas to kind of bring
back that golden age of filmmaking where characters you know,
and you know, you had these rich characters that were
so memorable and just lovely you know, for lack of
(07:04):
a better word. In addition to these storylines that were
that were exciting and that were memorable and that were
dialogue driven. It wasn't driven by you know, crazy action
scenes or explosions or CGI or something.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
It was actually a really great story.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
And you've also spoken about the need for better representation
clearly for Muslims, Arabs and other marginalized communities, But how
do you see the media as at all for both
healing and empowerment in these contexts.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Media is just a form of art today, right, and
so it's really no different than you know, writing, you know, novels.
It's no different than you know, painting a picture. And
so this is something that is just human down to
the very very you know, basics of our humanity, something
that we all can appreciate. But it's also so very
(07:54):
very powerful because when we share powerful stories, then we're
able to inspire, we're able to motivate. And how many
of us you know, I mean, I remember like silly
stories that I'm sure that you and I both have
very similar experiences on this, But like watching the movie
The Karate Kid. You know, when you're a child and
then you you know, the movies all over and then
(08:14):
the kids are running around, you know, and making making
karate moves and stuff like that because they were inspired
by the movie. And they you know, it was something
that motivated them or even watching you know, some of
these heroic epics, right and then you you know, kids
are out there playing swords and you know, with swords
and shields, and because they're motivated by the hero of
the story or the storyline itself. And that's kind of
(08:37):
what we're trying to recreate, is give that opportunity for
everybody they have that experience, not just for a particular
subset of the population.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
And what have been the most significant obstacles in launching
of values driven streaming platform and what lessons have you
learned about leadership and resilience along the way.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
As with any major project of this nature, I recognize
that it takes time, and so this isn't a project
where I hoped, but I didn't expect that within the
first you know, year or two that we're going to
have a lot of you know, submissions. People are still
(09:19):
trying to understand what FAM Cinema is because of the
content that's presently on the platform is content that I've
personally been involved in bringing and so majority of it
does have a Muslim theme to it, and so for
a lot of people when they see that They're like, Oh,
I didn't know this was a Muslim Muslim platform. I'm like,
(09:41):
it's not. It's open.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
What do you have, you know, share with us? And
so it's still people are.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Starting, you know, getting used to the idea, getting used
to the existence of something like this. I've had some
interesting conversations with publicists, you know, and trying to publicize
fam Cinema where people are you know, again getting the
same idea.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And I had one very very I.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Guess I would say it was a very exciting conversation
with a publicist who has many years of experience and
has done a lot of uh, done a lot of
work and I guess promoting film and stuff like that,
and so they certainly understand the industry. And he was
very excited. He said, this is a very very fresh idea.
(10:27):
This is something He's like, He's like you, he's sick. Congrats,
you did a great job. He said, this is this
is changing, this is going to change the industry. You're
going to be very successful. And I really appreciated that
from him because of his experience and his background. But
then it was interesting that he went and he had
conversations with his team with the I guess the you know,
(10:47):
the people who are above him, his supervisors and so forth.
And he came back and everything changed, the tone change,
and he said, well, you know, we're still very excited
about working with you, and we really still think this
is a great idea, but we'd just like to see
a little bit more diversity before we know, we take
this project on.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And I said yes.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I said, well, I said, that's why I'm trying to
get publicity so I can get more diversity. He's like, yeah,
I see where you're coming from, but at this point
in time, you know, we'd like to see more. So
I like to see other religions, you know, being being represented.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I said.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I said, well, other religions being represented. They already have
great representation. I mean, I said, Jewish people are very
well represented, you know in film in the Western Hemisphere,
as well as Christians. I said, so why wouldn't I said,
that's actually, you know, just giving them more representation. I'm
not this is not an opportunity to deny representation to anybody,
(11:38):
But I said, I just didn't get it. But then
I realized, Okay, the political message here, be intelligent and
understand what's between the lines. And so I recognized that
it's going to take time. It's going to take time
to build, going to take time because the marginalized communities
today are marginalized for a reason. You know, certain you know,
(12:01):
certain groups do not want those stories to be out there. Uh,
you know, they don't want certain people to tell their
own story. And so if we look at, you know,
getting away from Islam for a moment, we look at,
you know, the the African community. So we have an
entire continent, you know that that has you know, a
very very rich history and has amazing stories, and has
its own epic stories, and its own motivational stories, and
(12:25):
its own stories of you know, rags to riches, all
of these beautiful stories that we never hear about.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And and to some extent.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You know, there is a part of the world that
wants it that way, that wants you know, those people
to always be seen as you know, different, as to
be seen as less capable than than others. And so again,
marginalized people will understand that statement I made, whereas others
may not.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
I'm cinema. Where is it available?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It's currently available online and so you can go to
femsen dot com. Uh, it is available on Android on
any Android device. It is also available on all smart
TV's with the exception of the Apple TV right now.
So Apple has asked for more content as well, and
so they've been reluctant to you know, kind of green.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Lighted for iOS devices.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
But I still have a lot of people who are
able to just you know, for example, people who use
iPhones or iPads that they're able to go to the
website and stream from their device to their television to
be able to watch something without any difficulties. But our
hope is that soon that we'll be able to cross
over to iOS.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
But fairly available right.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Now from Muslims, Arabs and other marginalized communities who have
been on one of the platforms, THEO the iOS platform
that have been on androids or on their laptops and
have downloaded the app. What type of positive feedback have
you got from them?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Wonderful feedback, And so I'll.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Share a few of them if I may.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That there was one one gentleman in the United States
who said when he watched our first feature film. So
we have a feature film called The Green Game and
American in Fetia, which is a fam Cinema production, that
was made just for the platform and available only on
the platform.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And so he watched that movie and he said, I
love the movie.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
He said, the storyline was amazing and had a great
twist at the end that we were not really expecting,
he said, But the very best part was being able
to watch.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
The entire movie with my whole family.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
And he said, I've never had that opportunity before, you know,
to watch a movie that all of us could enjoy,
and that was something that really touched me and kind
of it was very motivational for me to not give
up and you know, keep going.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So we've seen that type of that type of feedback.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I've also seen feedback from you know, marginalized communities who
are like, this is so wonderful to finally able to
see a positive storyline, you know, involving a Muslim people.
And again, like if you go to The Green Game
as a movie, the Green Game is not a movie
about Muslims. It's not a movie about Islam. It is
a movie that features a few Muslims in addition to
(15:16):
many other non Muslims. It is a very diverse cast
in terms of the you know, the actors in the
movie and as well as the crew. But it was
it was very refreshing for people, as what I've seen
in the comments, to be able to see that, to
see that positive representation that they're not used to seeing.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
It sounds like fam Cinema is much as a movement
as it is a service. How do you foster a
sense of community and shared purpose among your audience and creators.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
You're absolutely right, and that is actually our motto that
it's more than movies. It is a movement, and the
movement is to democratize filmmaking and the film experience so
that everybody can enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So you don't have to wait.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
For Hollywood to deem your struggle or deem your background
to be worthy of, you know, being shown. You're able
to kind of, you know, now you're able to see
these types of movies, and we've made it so welcoming
for filmmakers to be able to come in and prioritize
filmmaking for marginalized communities.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
And so that has been.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
The driving force for us when it comes to working
with our audiences as well as our content creators to
kind of give that sense of purpose to them. And
that's something I feel a lot of filmmakers already have.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And so what propels a.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Person to go into film, it is that desire to
do something more, to be able to create art, to
be able to create a piece that will stand the
test of time that people will come back to, you know,
decades from now and still find value in that and
still find an appreciation or something that represents, you know,
(17:06):
a story or a people or a time that otherwise
isn't well represented. And so this really gives that motivation
to people that to say, Okay, I can do this,
and I can finally create that art that I've been
wanting to create, to create that special piece that's always
been in my heart, and and also to be able
(17:29):
to you know, profit off of it. One of the
things I tell a lot of the filmmakers that I
that that I speak with about FAM cinema is that
when you offer a movie to any of the big
streaming platforms, you know, without mentioning any names, what happens
is is that your movie goes into a large library
(17:51):
that will you know, be part of the streaming collection.
And most of these streaming collections are you know, well
over one hundred thousand movies, and in some cases you know,
approaching you know, over half of a million, approaching a million.
So what happens then is that your movie is just
one you know, it gets lost, you know in that
and so unless somebody is specifically searching for your movie,
it's very very light unlikely for them, you know, to
(18:13):
find it, even if it's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
And we see this for example with.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Oscar Award winning movies, you know, the last Oscars. There
there are Oscar winners that are not being streamed right
now because you know, for a variety of different reasons,
and even the ones that do get streaming, they don't
get a huge amount of attention. And that's because there's
so much choice. So when you go to a smaller
you know, streaming platform, it's kind of like a like
(18:40):
an indie cinema you know, in your in your or
you know, kind of a an art cinema that that's
in your city. That it's a smaller place, it's more curated,
and you're able to see things that you wouldn't see
elsewhere and be able to you know, find those treasures.
That's one thing, and so secondly, the other issue is
that you add your movie to a large platform that
(19:03):
has a subscription base. Then you're basically getting paid based
on the number of hours that your movie is being
watched and so a person so I mean, I'm seeing
things like fifteen cents per streaming hour that is being
paid out, you know, and it's usually not a significant amount.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
More than that.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So it's very easy to do the math in order
to you know, be able to make a livable wage
off of a film. I mean, how many streaming hours
do you need to have? Whereas with FAM Cinema we
have a completely different system. So ours is more of
a pay per view type of deal, you know, so
you select what you want to watch and you pay
(19:44):
for that viewing experience.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
And so.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It helps people in a number of ways. Number one
that there is much more limitation on binging, which we
all know is unhealthy. Secondly, it allows you to be
able to kind of to you know, support someone that
you care about. And so, for example, Damian, if you
have a movie and you're like, hey, you come to
FAM Cinema, like, I want to stream my my family
(20:09):
friendly you know movie on FAM Cinema, I said, fantastic,
And then you reach out to your you know, to
your followers and say, hey, my movie is on FAM Cinema,
and you know, people come and they they they purchase
tickets to watch your movie. Then all of that revenue essentially,
you know, is heading towards you. It's not being divided
up amongst other people in the subscription. It's all coming
(20:32):
to you. And so that makes it very very profitable
and a lot it's it's just a different and very
very from a promotional system for the filmmaker. It has
a great advantage to filmmakers as compared to a subscription model.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
And lastly, how would someone from a marginalized community submit
their film to be on FAM Cinema. What is the process?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Well, one of the something very cool that I'd love
to know so you on your program, is that we
are going to do our very first film festival, which
is it's going to the advertisements for that should be
going out this week and the the the date for
the end of the festival should be like mid November,
(21:18):
and so we're very very excited about that. To give
people an opportunity to become more familiar with them cinema
and our our method on our and our motto and
our mission.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
That's one issue.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
But although I just go to the website and contact
us through the website Info at Famcinema dot com. Support
at Famcinema dot com. Both we'll get you know to
somebody in the organization and just let us know what
you've got going on, and we'll schedule a conversation to
discuss how to get your movie on the platform and
how to get your message out to the masses.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Is this a global film festival? Can anyone apply from
around the world? I now wanted to so I go ahead.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Oh, I'm sorry, apologize. I didn't mean to cut you off.
It is. It is a global film festival, and it
is anybody around the world can.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Apply Excellent film Freeway or on your website film Freeway.
Excellent film Freeway is a favorite of mine and many
of the listeners, and I'm sure many people will apply.
And is there a short film selection and a feature
film selection.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yes, as well as an animated film selection.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
An animated film. Wow, that is really bother people. There's
one guest who's from a marginalized community. She's a Muslim herself,
and she's an animator, and she'll be coming on the
podcast soon and I'm certainly going to let her know
about FAM cinema for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I really appreciate it, you know, because of I mean just
the growth of the animated market and now that more
adults are watching you know, animated programs and they've gotten
used to that. You know, we do have we have
one animated actually two animated films on the platform right now.
They're very short, they're more I guess proof of sub
(23:00):
type of programs that just kind of show people, hey,
this is this is what's possible, this is what we
can do. And and we just wrapped up about a
week ago our first episode of a superhero cartoon that
we are you know, we have six episodes planned and
we just wrapped up the very first episode, uh, the
(23:21):
animation for it, and it's uh, it's very exciting and
that's going to be up on the platform very very soon.
I am expecting to have it probably by late this
week that it will go up. And it's a it's
again showing people that, you know, the the possibilities that
are out there for all of us, for all the
different communities, to show that hey, we can you can
(23:41):
do things like this that are that are representative and
that are authentic and as well very interesting.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
The possibilities in the digital aid. You're amazing and now
fan Cinemas here for all of us to see. Doctor Aerie,
thank you so much for coming on the podcast and
speaking to me. I really appreciate your time and I
hope to speak to you soon.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
I really hope to talk again, Davean.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
It's been an absolute pleasure, and I thank you for
taking the time to get me on.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That's it for today's episode of Filmmaking Conversations. Speaking of
Dr Ali reminded me of why I started this podcast
in the first place, to highlight people who are changing
the way we think about film. Famcinema isn't just another
platform in an already crowded market. It's proof that cinema
can be a movement. He shows us that families can
(24:29):
watch powerful, authentic stories together. He gives filmmakers for marginalized
communities a fear of chance to showcase their work, and
it reminds us all of the responsibility and the opportunity
that comes with telling stories on the screen. If you're
a filmmaker looking for a platform that will treat your
(24:49):
work with respect, or a family searching for meaningful films
to share, I encourage you to check out Famcinema dot
com and don't forget about the Global Film Festival. Dr
Ali announced. If you've got a short, a feature, or
even an animated project, this is the chance to get
(25:10):
involved in something truly groundbreaking. Thank you for listening. If
you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review.
It really does help move people and help more people
discover these conversations. Until next time, keep creating and keep
believing in the power of film to inspire and change.
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to
ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Welcome back to Filmmaking Conversations with me your host Damn Swaby,
and today I have a truly special guest joining me,
Dr Ali Shiatta, the founder of Famcinema. Now, as filmmakers
and film lovers, we all know the power of storytelling
by dot. Gailey's journey really struck me. For him, growing
(00:36):
up in the United States, he saw firsthand how Muslims
and other marginalized communities were consistently portrayed as villains or
outsiders in mainstream media. Instead of accepting that, he decided
to change the narrative. That decision gave birth to Famcinema,
a platform that's more than just another streaming service. It's
(00:56):
a space where families can watch films together about why
worrying about harmful or inappropriate content. It's a space where
authentic voices from marginalized communities can finally be heard. And
it's a space where filmmakers aren't buried under hundreds of
thousands of titles, but instead get the spotlight their work
deserves in our conversation, we dive into the challenges of
(01:20):
creating a value driven streaming platform, how FAM Cinema balances
entertainment with education, and why media can be such a
powerful tool for empowerment and healing. Doctor Ali Shiatta shares
some exciting news about Famcinema, its very first global film festival,
(01:43):
which opens the door for filmmakers from all over the
world to get involved. This is a conversation about representation, resilience,
and redefining the role of filming our lives and I'm
proud to share it with you all today. Ye Dror Ali,
how are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I'm wonderful, Thank you. It's a pleasure to be on
the show with you today.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
And it's a pleasure having you on someone who's bold
and thoughtful and come up with such an important quality
idea FAM Cinema. So I appreciate you taking the time
to come on the podcast. Doctor your background bridges medicine,
parenthood and entrepreneurship. Can you share a defining moment that
crystallized your vision for FAM Cinema.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Honestly, the moment was when I was a child, and
so as a child growing up in the United States,
and this is something that's been shared by a large
number of people, a lot of Muslims growing up in
western countries around the world, and honestly a lot of
marginalized people. Is that as we grew up in these
countries and we're integrating in those communities, what we noticed
(02:51):
is that a lot of the programming that we grew
up on, a lot of the movies that we loved,
a lot of the television shows that we loved, that
those shows margin analized us. That they basically in the
case of Muslims for example, that they they made us
look like the villain. They made us look like the
enemy all the time. And so it was it was
very challenging growing up and one thing to kind of,
(03:16):
I guess, engage with these types of programs. But then
when they made you and the people that you know,
who you came for, where you came from, they made
you the enemy, it was very hard.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I could imagine, very very hard. And I really could
imagine because you can see what I look like.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
So we share. I figured you would to be able
to relate to it.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
And so and that's why I say, like a lot
of times people see with ham cinema, they see that
this is you know, they look at and they say, oh,
this is for Muslims.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I'm like, no, this is for marginalized people. But that's
my background. That's my experience, is that I have the
experience of being you know, a Muslim.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So I can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I'm not going to It's not authentic for me to
talk about, for example, an Asian person or you know,
a black person to say that, Okay, you know this
is how their experience was, because I didn't live it,
but we all share that. We all have that experience
of being marginalized and having someone else from a different
background try to tell our story or try to, you know,
(04:20):
try to try to represent us in the writings or
in their programs.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
FAM Cinema is highly selective in its programming, which is great,
but what are the core values in criteria that guide
your creation process and how do you balance artistic merit
with educational and ethical considerations.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So, first of all, what we're looking for is family values.
That's that's the overriding theme of what Famous Cinema does.
So it is partly, you know, the opportunity for marginalized
people to share their stories, but it's also an opportunity
for families to be able to sit together.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So the way we envisioned it was similar to going
to a cinema.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
The experience of going to a cinema is that we
wanted people to have an opportunity to sit together as
families and be able to watch a program without there
being inappropriate content that makes it an adult movie or
only a kid's movie or something along those lines. And
so those are the two primaries, you know, criteria that
we're looking for. And then beyond that, of course, we
(05:25):
want to look for something that's you know, we do curate.
We don't just take anything that's submitted to the platform.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
We do want to curate something that's.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You know, that we feel is noteworthy, something that's remarkable,
something that makes a statement, something that's valuable. We really
believe that Again, just like you, you're going to be
selective when you go to a movie cinema in terms
of what you're going to watch. That we want something
that's memorable, is you're going to walk aw it's it's
worthy of discussion, worthy of being remembered.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
How do you measure value in a family film?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
The value is, of course that's going to be a
very subjective thing, and so we hope that we get
it right, but we we try very hard, you know,
to be very inclusive first of all. And so it's
essentially it's more of some things that would make a
movie not eligible or not something that we would feel
(06:19):
in tune with on on our platform. So it's more
of things that people you know, if they if they
had inappropriate content, or if they stereotyped, or if they
or something that just appears to be in generic. And
so so many of the movies that we see today
are just very generic. It's a it's a story that's
driven by you know, unfortunately by shock value or by
(06:41):
you know, disgusting jokes or you know, nudity or sexuality
or something like that, and you find that the story
itself is very lacking. And that's one of the hopes
that we have with fram cinemas to kind of bring
back that golden age of filmmaking where characters you know,
and you know, you had these rich characters that were
so memorable and just lovely you know, for lack of
(07:04):
a better word. In addition to these storylines that were
that were exciting and that were memorable and that were
dialogue driven. It wasn't driven by you know, crazy action
scenes or explosions or CGI or something.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
It was actually a really great story.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
And you've also spoken about the need for better representation
clearly for Muslims, Arabs and other marginalized communities, But how
do you see the media as at all for both
healing and empowerment in these contexts.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Media is just a form of art today, right, and
so it's really no different than you know, writing, you know, novels.
It's no different than you know, painting a picture. And
so this is something that is just human down to
the very very you know, basics of our humanity, something
that we all can appreciate. But it's also so very
(07:54):
very powerful because when we share powerful stories, then we're
able to inspire, we're able to motivate. And how many
of us you know, I mean, I remember like silly
stories that I'm sure that you and I both have
very similar experiences on this, But like watching the movie
The Karate Kid. You know, when you're a child and
then you you know, the movies all over and then
(08:14):
the kids are running around, you know, and making making
karate moves and stuff like that because they were inspired
by the movie. And they you know, it was something
that motivated them or even watching you know, some of
these heroic epics, right and then you you know, kids
are out there playing swords and you know, with swords
and shields, and because they're motivated by the hero of
the story or the storyline itself. And that's kind of
(08:37):
what we're trying to recreate, is give that opportunity for
everybody they have that experience, not just for a particular
subset of the population.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
And what have been the most significant obstacles in launching
of values driven streaming platform and what lessons have you
learned about leadership and resilience along the way.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
As with any major project of this nature, I recognize
that it takes time, and so this isn't a project
where I hoped, but I didn't expect that within the
first you know, year or two that we're going to
have a lot of you know, submissions. People are still
(09:19):
trying to understand what FAM Cinema is because of the
content that's presently on the platform is content that I've
personally been involved in bringing and so majority of it
does have a Muslim theme to it, and so for
a lot of people when they see that They're like, Oh,
I didn't know this was a Muslim Muslim platform. I'm like,
(09:41):
it's not. It's open.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
What do you have, you know, share with us? And
so it's still people are.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Starting, you know, getting used to the idea, getting used
to the existence of something like this. I've had some
interesting conversations with publicists, you know, and trying to publicize
fam Cinema where people are you know, again getting the
same idea.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And I had one very very I.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Guess I would say it was a very exciting conversation
with a publicist who has many years of experience and
has done a lot of uh, done a lot of
work and I guess promoting film and stuff like that,
and so they certainly understand the industry. And he was
very excited. He said, this is a very very fresh idea.
(10:27):
This is something He's like, He's like you, he's sick. Congrats,
you did a great job. He said, this is this
is changing, this is going to change the industry. You're
going to be very successful. And I really appreciated that
from him because of his experience and his background. But
then it was interesting that he went and he had
conversations with his team with the I guess the you know,
(10:47):
the people who are above him, his supervisors and so forth.
And he came back and everything changed, the tone change,
and he said, well, you know, we're still very excited
about working with you, and we really still think this
is a great idea, but we'd just like to see
a little bit more diversity before we know, we take
this project on.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And I said yes.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I said, well, I said, that's why I'm trying to
get publicity so I can get more diversity. He's like, yeah,
I see where you're coming from, but at this point
in time, you know, we'd like to see more. So
I like to see other religions, you know, being being represented.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I said.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I said, well, other religions being represented. They already have
great representation. I mean, I said, Jewish people are very
well represented, you know in film in the Western Hemisphere,
as well as Christians. I said, so why wouldn't I said,
that's actually, you know, just giving them more representation. I'm
not this is not an opportunity to deny representation to anybody,
(11:38):
But I said, I just didn't get it. But then
I realized, Okay, the political message here, be intelligent and
understand what's between the lines. And so I recognized that
it's going to take time. It's going to take time
to build, going to take time because the marginalized communities
today are marginalized for a reason. You know, certain you know,
(12:01):
certain groups do not want those stories to be out there. Uh,
you know, they don't want certain people to tell their
own story. And so if we look at, you know,
getting away from Islam for a moment, we look at,
you know, the the African community. So we have an
entire continent, you know that that has you know, a
very very rich history and has amazing stories, and has
its own epic stories, and its own motivational stories, and
(12:25):
its own stories of you know, rags to riches, all
of these beautiful stories that we never hear about.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And and to some extent.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You know, there is a part of the world that
wants it that way, that wants you know, those people
to always be seen as you know, different, as to
be seen as less capable than than others. And so again,
marginalized people will understand that statement I made, whereas others
may not.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
I'm cinema. Where is it available?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It's currently available online and so you can go to
femsen dot com. Uh, it is available on Android on
any Android device. It is also available on all smart
TV's with the exception of the Apple TV right now.
So Apple has asked for more content as well, and
so they've been reluctant to you know, kind of green.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Lighted for iOS devices.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
But I still have a lot of people who are
able to just you know, for example, people who use
iPhones or iPads that they're able to go to the
website and stream from their device to their television to
be able to watch something without any difficulties. But our
hope is that soon that we'll be able to cross
over to iOS.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
But fairly available right.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Now from Muslims, Arabs and other marginalized communities who have
been on one of the platforms, THEO the iOS platform
that have been on androids or on their laptops and
have downloaded the app. What type of positive feedback have
you got from them?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Wonderful feedback, And so I'll.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Share a few of them if I may.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That there was one one gentleman in the United States
who said when he watched our first feature film. So
we have a feature film called The Green Game and
American in Fetia, which is a fam Cinema production, that
was made just for the platform and available only on
the platform.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And so he watched that movie and he said, I
love the movie.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
He said, the storyline was amazing and had a great
twist at the end that we were not really expecting,
he said, But the very best part was being able
to watch.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
The entire movie with my whole family.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
And he said, I've never had that opportunity before, you know,
to watch a movie that all of us could enjoy,
and that was something that really touched me and kind
of it was very motivational for me to not give
up and you know, keep going.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So we've seen that type of that type of feedback.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I've also seen feedback from you know, marginalized communities who
are like, this is so wonderful to finally able to
see a positive storyline, you know, involving a Muslim people.
And again, like if you go to The Green Game
as a movie, the Green Game is not a movie
about Muslims. It's not a movie about Islam. It is
a movie that features a few Muslims in addition to
(15:16):
many other non Muslims. It is a very diverse cast
in terms of the you know, the actors in the
movie and as well as the crew. But it was
it was very refreshing for people, as what I've seen
in the comments, to be able to see that, to
see that positive representation that they're not used to seeing.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
It sounds like fam Cinema is much as a movement
as it is a service. How do you foster a
sense of community and shared purpose among your audience and creators.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
You're absolutely right, and that is actually our motto that
it's more than movies. It is a movement, and the
movement is to democratize filmmaking and the film experience so
that everybody can enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
So you don't have to wait.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
For Hollywood to deem your struggle or deem your background
to be worthy of, you know, being shown. You're able
to kind of, you know, now you're able to see
these types of movies, and we've made it so welcoming
for filmmakers to be able to come in and prioritize
filmmaking for marginalized communities.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
And so that has been.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
The driving force for us when it comes to working
with our audiences as well as our content creators to
kind of give that sense of purpose to them. And
that's something I feel a lot of filmmakers already have.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And so what propels a.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Person to go into film, it is that desire to
do something more, to be able to create art, to
be able to create a piece that will stand the
test of time that people will come back to, you know,
decades from now and still find value in that and
still find an appreciation or something that represents, you know,
(17:06):
a story or a people or a time that otherwise
isn't well represented. And so this really gives that motivation
to people that to say, Okay, I can do this,
and I can finally create that art that I've been
wanting to create, to create that special piece that's always
been in my heart, and and also to be able
(17:29):
to you know, profit off of it. One of the
things I tell a lot of the filmmakers that I
that that I speak with about FAM cinema is that
when you offer a movie to any of the big
streaming platforms, you know, without mentioning any names, what happens
is is that your movie goes into a large library
(17:51):
that will you know, be part of the streaming collection.
And most of these streaming collections are you know, well
over one hundred thousand movies, and in some cases you know,
approaching you know, over half of a million, approaching a million.
So what happens then is that your movie is just
one you know, it gets lost, you know in that
and so unless somebody is specifically searching for your movie,
it's very very light unlikely for them, you know, to
(18:13):
find it, even if it's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
And we see this for example with.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Oscar Award winning movies, you know, the last Oscars. There
there are Oscar winners that are not being streamed right
now because you know, for a variety of different reasons,
and even the ones that do get streaming, they don't
get a huge amount of attention. And that's because there's
so much choice. So when you go to a smaller
you know, streaming platform, it's kind of like a like
(18:40):
an indie cinema you know, in your in your or
you know, kind of a an art cinema that that's
in your city. That it's a smaller place, it's more curated,
and you're able to see things that you wouldn't see
elsewhere and be able to you know, find those treasures.
That's one thing, and so secondly, the other issue is
that you add your movie to a large platform that
(19:03):
has a subscription base. Then you're basically getting paid based
on the number of hours that your movie is being
watched and so a person so I mean, I'm seeing
things like fifteen cents per streaming hour that is being
paid out, you know, and it's usually not a significant amount.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
More than that.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So it's very easy to do the math in order
to you know, be able to make a livable wage
off of a film. I mean, how many streaming hours
do you need to have? Whereas with FAM Cinema we
have a completely different system. So ours is more of
a pay per view type of deal, you know, so
you select what you want to watch and you pay
(19:44):
for that viewing experience.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
And so.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It helps people in a number of ways. Number one
that there is much more limitation on binging, which we
all know is unhealthy. Secondly, it allows you to be
able to kind of to you know, support someone that
you care about. And so, for example, Damian, if you
have a movie and you're like, hey, you come to
FAM Cinema, like, I want to stream my my family
(20:09):
friendly you know movie on FAM Cinema, I said, fantastic,
And then you reach out to your you know, to
your followers and say, hey, my movie is on FAM Cinema,
and you know, people come and they they they purchase
tickets to watch your movie. Then all of that revenue essentially,
you know, is heading towards you. It's not being divided
up amongst other people in the subscription. It's all coming
(20:32):
to you. And so that makes it very very profitable
and a lot it's it's just a different and very
very from a promotional system for the filmmaker. It has
a great advantage to filmmakers as compared to a subscription model.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
And lastly, how would someone from a marginalized community submit
their film to be on FAM Cinema. What is the process?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Well, one of the something very cool that I'd love
to know so you on your program, is that we
are going to do our very first film festival, which
is it's going to the advertisements for that should be
going out this week and the the the date for
the end of the festival should be like mid November,
(21:18):
and so we're very very excited about that. To give
people an opportunity to become more familiar with them cinema
and our our method on our and our motto and
our mission.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
That's one issue.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
But although I just go to the website and contact
us through the website Info at Famcinema dot com. Support
at Famcinema dot com. Both we'll get you know to
somebody in the organization and just let us know what
you've got going on, and we'll schedule a conversation to
discuss how to get your movie on the platform and
how to get your message out to the masses.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Is this a global film festival? Can anyone apply from
around the world? I now wanted to so I go ahead.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Oh, I'm sorry, apologize. I didn't mean to cut you off.
It is. It is a global film festival, and it
is anybody around the world can.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Apply Excellent film Freeway or on your website film Freeway.
Excellent film Freeway is a favorite of mine and many
of the listeners, and I'm sure many people will apply.
And is there a short film selection and a feature
film selection.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yes, as well as an animated film selection.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
An animated film. Wow, that is really bother people. There's
one guest who's from a marginalized community. She's a Muslim herself,
and she's an animator, and she'll be coming on the
podcast soon and I'm certainly going to let her know
about FAM cinema for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I really appreciate it, you know, because of I mean just
the growth of the animated market and now that more
adults are watching you know, animated programs and they've gotten
used to that. You know, we do have we have
one animated actually two animated films on the platform right now.
They're very short, they're more I guess proof of sub
(23:00):
type of programs that just kind of show people, hey,
this is this is what's possible, this is what we
can do. And and we just wrapped up about a
week ago our first episode of a superhero cartoon that
we are you know, we have six episodes planned and
we just wrapped up the very first episode, uh, the
(23:21):
animation for it, and it's uh, it's very exciting and
that's going to be up on the platform very very soon.
I am expecting to have it probably by late this
week that it will go up. And it's a it's
again showing people that, you know, the the possibilities that
are out there for all of us, for all the
different communities, to show that hey, we can you can
(23:41):
do things like this that are that are representative and
that are authentic and as well very interesting.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
The possibilities in the digital aid. You're amazing and now
fan Cinemas here for all of us to see. Doctor Aerie,
thank you so much for coming on the podcast and
speaking to me. I really appreciate your time and I
hope to speak to you soon.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
I really hope to talk again, Davean.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
It's been an absolute pleasure, and I thank you for
taking the time to get me on.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That's it for today's episode of Filmmaking Conversations. Speaking of
Dr Ali reminded me of why I started this podcast
in the first place, to highlight people who are changing
the way we think about film. Famcinema isn't just another
platform in an already crowded market. It's proof that cinema
can be a movement. He shows us that families can
(24:29):
watch powerful, authentic stories together. He gives filmmakers for marginalized
communities a fear of chance to showcase their work, and
it reminds us all of the responsibility and the opportunity
that comes with telling stories on the screen. If you're
a filmmaker looking for a platform that will treat your
(24:49):
work with respect, or a family searching for meaningful films
to share, I encourage you to check out Famcinema dot
com and don't forget about the Global Film Festival. Dr
Ali announced. If you've got a short, a feature, or
even an animated project, this is the chance to get
(25:10):
involved in something truly groundbreaking. Thank you for listening. If
you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review.
It really does help move people and help more people
discover these conversations. Until next time, keep creating and keep
believing in the power of film to inspire and change.
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