PAROCHIAL

Written to highlight the feelings of powerlessness, anxiety, and being stuck in undesirable conditions, Parochial follows Amir, a Muslim man teaching at a Christian school disguised under a fake name.

After seeing his close friend, the only other person of color at the school, quit her job after no longer being able to tolerate the microaggressive, overly positive principal, Amir grapples with his own place at the school as he embarks upon another stressful day. Struggling to keep his job while wanting to take the leap and quit, Amir is forced to confront fighting, crying students, driving him to the brink of madness and revealing his Muslim identity. With all revealed, Amir struggles with what he owes to himself and his young students, leading to a heartfelt conversation with an eight-year-old girl.

Parochial, a short film supported by the Northwestern Multicultural Filmmakers Collective, was developed from November 2023 to June 2024.