On November 9th, Mayor Mohamed Khairullah is set to make history as the longest serving Mayor in Prospect Park history, with 16 years of service in office. Mayor Khairullah is also currently the longest serving Muslim and Arab Mayor and elected official in the state, and is widely-known and lauded for his work throughout the state and country for supporting fellow elected officials and candidates, as well as his humanitarian work throughout the world.

A movie documenting Khairullah’s experiences, “Mayor Mohamed”, is set to be shown at the Montclair Film Festival on October 28th (tickets available here).

Tom Hall, Executive Director of Montclair Film, said “Mayor Mohamed explores the fragility of our democratic values with dignity and keen insight into the issues that frame our collective identity.”

“Montclair Film Festival is a world renowned event,” said director Jeffrey Togman, “but it’s also my hometown. I can’t express how delighted I am to screen Mayor Mohamed at the festival.”

“I am grateful to Mr. Togman for putting a spot light on issues that are of great importance to the Muslim American community and to the struggles of the Syrians in Syria,” said Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah. “I am also grateful to the Montclair Film Festival for allowing us to tell our story to the general public. I hope that the film helps in educating the general public about those important issues,” Mayor Khairullah added.

MAYOR MOHAMED

A film by Jeffrey M. Togman

“Jeffrey M. Togman’s MAYOR MOHAMED explores the fragility of our democratic values with dignity and keen insight into the issues that frame our collective identity.”
— Montclair Film Festival

“It’s just a great film. It’s such an intimate portrait that shows not only a man’s dedication to his community but also the complexities of politics in this country.”
— Brandon Harrison, Feature Documentary Programmer, Brooklyn Film Festival

Synopsis

In MAYOR MOHAMED, a penetrating and complex film about the Muslim-American immigrant experience, Mohamed Khairullah fights the forces of Islamophobia in the United States while simultaneously risking his life to bring humanitarian relief into Syria, his country of origin. When a local politician in his small town rails against “Sharia Law” and runs a campaign to unseat him as mayor, his own political survival and a particular view of what it means to be American are on the line.

Festivals

Montclair Film Festival, Montclair, New Jersey, October 2021 (LINK)
Arabisches Filmfestival, Tubingen, Germany, October 2021 (LINK)
Brooklyn Film Festival, Brooklyn, New York, June 2021 (LINK)

Comps

“Knock Down the House”, “Street Fight”, “The White Helmets”, “The Cave”

Filmmakers

Director and Producer/A Film by Jeffrey M. Togman

Jeffrey M. Togman’s film Home had its world premiere at the SilverDocs/AFI Documentary Festival (now AFI Docs), where it won a Special Jury Recognition Award. The New York Times called Home a “marvelously revealing documentary about the psychology of poverty.” The film aired on the Sundance Channel and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures and Netflix.

Togman’s documentary We’re Not Blood had its world premiere at the San Francisco Documentary Festival, and the film won the Best Dramatic Documentary Feature Award at the Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival. BBC Radio called We’re Not Blood, “Absolutely extraordinary … an amazing story.” The film was broadcast on the Mexican public television series DOC 360° on Canal Once.
Togman is the author of The Ramparts of Nations (Praeger), a comparative study of immigration politics in France and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University (NYU), and is currently Professor of Political Science and Film at Seton Hall University. Mayor Mohamed is his third feature-length documentary.

Cinematographer and Producer – Joshua Atesh Litle

Josh Litle’s feature documentary The Furious Force of Rhymes, an international co-production with ARTE, The Smithsonian Channel and Les Films d’Ici, premiered at Locarno winning a Special Jury Prize. Litle’s narrative feature film Ever Since the World Ended was awarded Best Feature Narrative at both the San Francisco Indiefest (SFIndiefest) and Sci-Fi London film festivals, and was selected as a New York Times Critics’ Pick. He holds an MFA in Film from Stony Brook University and has taught production at NYU.

Producer – Pierre Defendini

Pierre Defendini produced and shot both Home and We’re Not Blood. Defendini served as assistant director on the feature film Satellite and the documentary The Furious Force of Rhymes. He holds a BA in English from the State University of New York at Albany.