Luis Argeo, the director of a Spanish film called “AsturianUS,” sent me an e-mail about a new WV film. He is in the San Francisco area, researching a new travel book for the Spanish market. He finally got to spend an hour with my friend Les Blank, a long time resident of the Bay Area. He gave Les a copy of his WV film which Les hopes to watch after serving on a film jury. He also let me know that the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival will be showing “Mosque in Morgantown,” a new film made in WV about Asra Nomani, author of the book, “Standing Alone in Mecca – An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam ,” and subject “Mosque in Morgantown.” The director is Brittany Huckabee.

 The film won “best feature documentary” at the 2009 at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

I got to meet Asra Nomani in Shepherdstown in 2005 when she gave a presentation to the West Virginia Library Association. Congrats to Ms. Huckabee and Ms. Nomani on the new film about Nomani’s struggles in Morgantown.  The film will be shown nationally on PBS on June 15th, 2009 with some possible local showings in Morgantown before.

 I have written about the links between Appalachia and Asia, going back at least to the life and work of native daughter Pearl Buck. I also have written about the link between WV’s chemical industry and the Bhopal Disaster as shown in Mimi Pickering’s great film, “Chemical Valley.”

Argeo is working on a new film about a man who lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He is looking for funding for the film. He recently made this short film for his father showing his grandmother’s home that is about to be demolished, “La casa de la abuela Marina,” Mr. Argeo is revising an article he wrote in Spanish about making his WV film that hopefully Goldenseal magazine will be publishing soon.

Here is a description of the film from a website -

After reporting from post-9/11 Pakistan, Indian Muslim Wall Street Journal
reporter Asra Nomani returns to the West Virginia town where she grew up to
discover that the mosque there had been taken over by men she saw as
extremists. The Mosque in Morgantown chronicles what happens when she
decides to fight back – angering even the mosque’s moderates. As the film unfolds, it tells a story of competing paths to social change, American identity, and the nature of religion itself.

Nice story about the new film from “Hell on Frisco Bay.”

2004 story on original conflict.

Asian American Media site description.

University of Missouri student review

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