Named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by “Filmmaker Magazine” in 2017, Nijla Baseema Mu’min’s short films have screened at festivals and venues across the country, including Outfest, Pan African Film Festival, and BAMcinématek. Her screenwriting and filmmaking have been recognized by the Sundance Institute, IFP, Film Independent, and the Princess Grace Foundation. “Jinn” is her feature debut.

“Jinn” will premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival on March 11.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

NM: Jinn is a coming-of-age film about a teenage dancer named Summer whose world is shaken when her mother, Jade, converts to Islam. At first resistant to the faith, she becomes drawn to some of its teachings, and experiences deep feelings for a Muslim classmate, Tahir.

It’s a film about identity, first love, and Islam, but also about what happens when you don’t fit into one box.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

NM: I was drawn to this story because of my own upbringing in a largely African-American Muslim community in Oakland. As I got older, I was introduced to pop culture, different forms of sexuality, Lil’ Kim rap tapes, daisy dukes, pressed hair, belly-out t-shirts, and I became quite conflicted about how to define my identity as a black girl with a Muslim father and a spiritual, non-religious mother. I was a part of so many different cultural worlds and wanted to make them all fit.

This film asks can I be confused, and flawed, and full of desire, and still be a Muslim? Can I be all these things and still be loved?

Often the conversation around Islam is centered on Islamophobia and representation, which are very important and necessary, but can we also have a space for Muslim characters to just be people who feel, laugh, and struggle like everyone else? Can we acknowledge the intersections of being a Black, Muslim woman?

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

NM: I want audience members to be feel refreshed, in love, moved. But what exactly people feel or think may not be up to me. I think that is the power of art, and cinema — it’s the interpretations and experiences that we all bring into it.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

NM: While this is an independent film, the story could’ve easily been told with a large budget. There are a lot of locations, cast, costume, and wardrobe demands, visual nuances, and production-related needs that made this film difficult to shoot in the way that we did, but we didn’t let that stop us.

The challenge for us was to preserve the heart and ambition of the story, working within an 18-day schedule, getting the shots and performances we needed to make the film stand out. Because I’ve worked on a number of short films with limited budgets, and have been able to render beautiful imagery and stories, I applied that same focus to this film.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

NM: Jinn is a truly independent film. We funded this film through a variety of grants, crowdfunding, and private equity. We received grants from SFFILM, Sundance Institute, WIF LA, and the Islamic Scholarship Foundation. We had a highly successful Kickstarter campaign that launched the film into the awareness of the general public, and saw contributions from the likes of Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, and Lena Waithe. One of our executive producers is Elton Brand, a former NBA player.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at SXSW?

NM: It means a lot to me. I think there is something very fitting that we play at a woman-led festival with a film about a mother and daughter in transition.

I also really love that a large part of the SXSW experience is defined by this confluence of artistic media, which matches the tone of our film, as Summer traverses dance, writing, music, and poetry in a way that is fun, familiar, and meaningful.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

NM: One of my favorite filmmakers, Ava DuVernay, told me “Don’t rest on that one film. Always have something in the works.” At that time, I did have a feature film script that I thought would be my first feature film. However, things didn’t go the way I planned, and I ended up writing and developing new projects, one of them being “Jinn.”

As creators, we have to be flexible. We can’t put all of our hope and dreams into one story, because it may not be the time for that particular story to be told. I am always developing new ideas and getting ready for what’s next.

Worst advice: A well-intentioned advice from a respected adviser told me that as a black woman filmmaker, it would be best to write and direct “marketable” films because there’s already so much against women of color.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

NM: Just start now. Don’t wait for people to tell you what is possible, because they may never tell you. I meet and come in contact with a lot of aspiring women directors who want so bad to make a film or write a movie, but they don’t know the first steps. I was in that very position.

There was no one around me who was a filmmaker, and I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had a yearning to tell stories visually. Sometimes it starts there, with you, and not with what someone else can do for you.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

NM: I have so many. One of my favorite films is “Eve’s Bayou” directed by Kasi Lemmons. I remember being haunted by the voiceover in the opening and closing of that film as a young girl. This story of family, of secrets, and betrayal was so moving to me. The performances, particularly Debbi Morgan as Aunt Mozelle, stayed with me over so many days and weeks. I had never seen a film like this, that represented women and people who looked like me and my family from Louisiana.

That film had a profound effect on me as a storyteller, and influenced my interest in themes related to family, girlhood, coming of age, and identity.

W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women — and some men — in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What are your thoughts on the #TimesUp movement and the push for equality in the film business?

NM: I think this conversation and movement are definitely past due, and I am inspired and moved by all of the women who have come forward with stories and testimony during this time. I often think of all of the women who were caught in this web of harassment and assault years back, and lacked any platform to speak out, or bring this injustice to light. I wonder about the women whose names we still don’t know, whose cries and protests were ignored, whose lives were ruined, and who carry that pain with them today. As an artist, this pushes me. I am concerned with making a space for our voices, our bodies, and our lives in cinema.