News & Commentary written by Razi Jafri

Razi Jafri is a documentary filmmaker and producer based in Hamtramck. His work focuses on democracy, and human rights. His film, “Hamtramck, USA,” premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and aired on the PBS program, “America ReFramed.” The film chronicles life and democracy in America’s first Muslim-majority city. Jafri produced the PBS film, “Three Chaplains,” about Muslim chaplains as they fight for religious freedom and equity in the US military. He also produced “ROUGE,” which premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival. Jafri is currently directing several new documentaries, including one about the “uncommitted” political grassroots movement born in the Arab and Muslim communities of Metro Detroit. Razi’s work has been supported by the Ford Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), the Sundance Institute, and others. He has been awarded fellowships by the Impact Partners, the Kresge Foundation, the Knight-Sundance Fellowship, the Sundance Producers Lab+Fellowship, and the Sundance-Disney Fellowship. Jafri holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. He is a 2022 Gilda Award recipient.