Jason Perez, a.k.a “Hamza” is a Puerto Rican American man who grew up in Massachussets. Raised as a Catholic, he experienced a conversion to Islam after being imprisoned. This conversion was a turning point in his life and afterwards he formed a rap group through which he expresses bonds of solidarity with the Muslim community in Pittsburgh and in the United States. After his mosque is raided by the FBI for unclear reasons, Hamza begins giving anti-drug talks as a spiritual speaker in a jail of Pittsburgh, where he unites inmates of different racial and religious backgrounds. Hamza also looks for new alliances with a Jewish writer and both of them start using music and poetry as means for spiritual and social expressions through which the youth can channel their aspirations and frustrations.
Type: Feature FilmLength: 83 minutes
Year: 2009
Audio Language: English
Subtitles:
Themes: Politics/Human Rights, Religion, Social Life and Customs, USA
Director(s): Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
