Скачать или смотреть "Witness" Q&A w/ filmmaker Masood Haque

Filmmaker Masood Haque visited The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY on June 17, 2022 to show his documentary "Witness." The screening was followed by this Q&A with the filmmaker, who was joined in a panel discussion by activist Lynne Jackson, attorney Kathy Manley and journalist Larry Rulison.

www.mediasanctuary.org
www.witnessdoc.com

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a local pizza shop owner and the Imam of an Albany mosque found themselves at the center of an elaborate FBI sting operation. A convicted felon was sent undercover to lure the young men into a criminal plot as part of a plea bargain. They spent most of the next twenty years in prison while their accuser went on to a prominent role in the 2018 limousine crash in Schoharie, NY. "Witness" explores the difficult balance between civil liberties and security with a searing look at the impact of the so-called "War on Terror" on everyday life.

Masood Haque graduated from NYU and subsequently received his MFA in documentary film production from CUNY. He has produced and directed several award-winning short form documentaries including "Stranger in Paradise," which won the top prize at City Vision Film Festival and the jury prize at Jackson Heights Film Festival. "Witness" is his first feature documentary.

Lynne Jackson is a community activist, and was the moderator for the panel. Lynne Jackson is a breast cancer survivor who has lived in Albany, New York for more than 40 years. She makes her living as a computer consultant, worked with Save the Pine Bush for more than 35 years, volunteers on the issue of preemptive prosecution of Muslims and gives presentations on these issues. She lives in the South End of Albany with her husband, Daniel W. Van Riper and two cats.

Kathy Manley is a criminal defense attorney, speaking as Yassin Aref’s attorney. She is the Legal Director of the Coalition for Civil Freedoms and the President of the Capital Region Council of the New York Civil Liberties Union. She is also a founding member of Project SALAM. Her main emphasis is criminal defense and constitutional rights. She concentrates on appeals, has written many successful briefs before a variety of courts, and has received several awards for her work.

Larry Rulison has been a reporter for the Albany Times Union since 2005. Larry’s reporting for the Times Union has won several awards for business and investigative journalism from the New York State Associated Press Association and the New York News Publishers Association. As a journalist, he has written about the informant, Shahed Hussain, the 2018 Schoharie limousine crash and the connections between the two cases.

This event was co-sponsored by iEAR Presents! and Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims), Coalition for Civil Freedoms, Capital District Coalition Against Islamophobia, and Muslim Solidarity Committee.