New York-based filmmaker Razid Season’s award-winning film ‘Elijah’ will be screened at the Muskoka Queer Film Festival as part of the festival’s Official Selection on May 17th at 2 PM at Gravenhurst Opera House, 295 Muskoka South, Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1J1.
Elijah recently received the prestigious LGBTQIA+ Image Award at the CUNY Film Festival. The winners were announced at the Awards Gala at the festival’s venue in New York on May 10th, 2025. ‘Elijah’ has also won the award for Best Drama Short at the 25th Coney Island Film Festival in New York City and an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival. Since the movie was released in January, it has screened at many festivals in the US and around the world. It also won a second place in the Audience Choice Award at the 25th Phoenix Film Festival in April 2025.
The film explores the identity and belonging of a South Asian Muslim family and their lives in New York City as they struggle to realize the American Dream. Against this backdrop is the family’s private turmoil, as their teenager comes to grips with their gender identity and seeks to live authentically.
Film director Season said, “I have personally volunteered for hundreds of transgender youth who were going through crisis, and I also volunteered for Yellow Cab taxi drivers in New York City, many of them were people of color, and some of them faced bankruptcy due to crashing taxi medallion values in New York City. My goal was to highlight the impacted minorities, those who have rarely found space in the mainstream of our capitalist American society.”
Melissa Sklarz, a democratic leader and the only transgender elected official in New York said, “Transgender people face unique stressors, including the stress some trans people experience when their gender identity is not affirmed. This is a timely story, and it emphasizes the importance of acceptance, open-mindedness, and compassion.”
Harvey Brownstone, the first openly gay judge in Canada (now retired) and renowned media personality, is the executive producer of the film.
South Asian actors Ajaz Alam, Debjani Banerjee, and Mithila Gazi are in leading roles. The cast also includes Eva Visco, Devon Slotnick, Edis JD, Sharmin Akhter, Aarthi Mamidela, Titu Gazi, Chanchal Alamgir, Shaesta Khan, Anwesha Chandra Tia in supporting roles. Uladzimir Taukachou served as the Director of Photography.
This film Elijah is made possible with funds from the statewide community regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the governor and the New York state legislature. The film is presented by New York-based non-profit Image Maker Films.
For more information call Razid Season at +1 858-257-8115 or email at imagemakerfilms@gmail.com or visit Image Maker’s website at www.imagemakerfilms.org or www.razidseason.com or festival’s website at www.mqff.ca