Coming Around

„We are here. We are queer. We are Muslim. We are both, relentlessly without contradiction and without apology.“

28-year-old Eman is a Muslim woman of Palestinian-Egyptian origin who lives an openly queer life in Brooklyn. In her research work at university and her commitment for the queer community, Eman devotes herself to the perceived contradictions and challenges of queer Muslim identities and lifestyles.
Only when she is back home in Missouri to see her conservatively Muslim mother with whom she has a close and loving relationship, she feels compelled to hide her queer identity.
When Eman marries a cisgender man, the pressure to come out decreases – at first. Yet Eman feels that there is no way around talking things out with her mother if she wants to be truly seen by her eventually.
With Coming Around, Sandra Itäinen succeeded in creating a tender and emotional portrait of a complex mother-daughter relationship that highlights the diversity of religious and sexual communities and advocates for a respectful and constructive approach to different mindsets. This quiet documentary gem gives a voice to queer Muslim perspectives and will celebrate its German premiere at our festival.