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2009 Big Sky Documentary Festival

(2009) 46 minutes, directed by David Teague

Synopsis:

The opening of the United States’ first Arabic language public school provoked a firestorm of allegations that the school would teach radical Islam or even produce terrorists. As critics and the mainstream media stoked the flames in the climate of post-9/11 America, the controversy forced the school’s Arab-American Muslim principal from her job. “Intifada NYC” follows the principal’s struggle to get her job back, the outcry against the school, and the debate provoked about tolerance and freedom of speech. The film combines exclusive interviews and vérité with graphic novel-style drawings, while the original score mixes classical, jazz, and Middle Eastern styles.

Credits:

Directed, Shot, and Edited by David Teague

Produced by David Teague & Tracey Izatt

Composer Richard Marriott

Additional Compositions Amir ElSaffar

Original Artwork Ester Wilson

Contributing Editor Darius Marder

Production Crew Jeremy Carr, Greg King, Ezra Bookstein

Additional Camera Kyle McCabe, Konrad Aderer, Rafael de la Uz, Greg King

Associate Producer Negin Salmasi

Assistant Editor John Henry Malone

Production Assistants Daniel McGovern, Tatille Jackson, Suhel Polanco, Sharine Mohamed

Story Consultants Kyle McCabe, Caitlin Dixon

Sound Edit and Mix Alex Noyes

Special Thanks Annie Wedekind

Produced by the Brooklyn Vitagraph Company