Join the Global Islamic Studies Center & the Arab American National Museum on Tuesday, October 14, 7pm at the Arab Ameircan National Museum for Muslim Horror Short Films from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia.
What is Halaloween? Halaloween screens horror films from across the globe that were made by, for, or about Muslims, to understand: “What scares Muslim audiences? Are horror movies halal?”
This year’s 2025 film festival runs throughout October on Tuesdays. Halaloween will showcase one film streaming online from October 1-15; a montage of short films in-person at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn on Tuesday, October 14 at 7pm; and two in-person screenings at the State Theatre, on Tuesday October 21 and 28 at 7pm.
The festival is free in-person and online–but make sure to reserve tickets! In-person screenings will be first-come, first-served with RSVPs strongly encouraged.
We are inclusive of everyone's film needs: from new horror fans who close their eyes through most scary movies, to those who love the gore–we've got films for everyone! Check the Halaloween Horror Rating in the description of each film for its scariness rating and other details.
The 2025 Halaloween Lineup:
October 1-15: Xoftex | Greece/Palestine/Syria | 2024 | Online Screening
October 14: Short Films | Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia | 7:00pm | Arab American National Museum (Dearborn)
October 21: Agora | Tunisia | 2024 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre
October 28: Algiers | Algeria | 2024 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre
RSVP & stream our online selection: watch.eventive.org/halaloween
__________________
THIS WEEK’S FEATURE: Muslim Horror Short Films from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia at the Arab American National Museum
On Tuesday, October 14, join us in-person at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) to watch five horror short films from across the Muslim world. Shorts include Building 13 (Meshal Almutairi, Saudi Arabia), Enmity Djinn (Mohamed Echkouna, Mauritania), Ladies Coffee (Amal Al-Agroobi, UK/Syria/UAE), Aicha (Sanaa El Alaoui, Morocco), A Lullaby Unlike Any Other (Amani Jaafer, Tunisia/Sweden). A short talkback with Halaloween curators & refreshments will follow. RSVP encouraged. Check out the rest of the month’s Halaloween Horror selection: http://watch.eventive.org/halaloween.
Film Descriptions:
Building 13 | 2024 | 9 min | Saudi Arabia
Directed by: Meshal Al-Mutairi
Description: Intrigued by the mysterious Building 13, horror enthusiast Safwan defies warnings and enters, only to be trapped inside by supernatural forces. Through cryptic clues, he must solve riddles involving the number 13 to escape, all while being pursued by a bloodied figure with deadly intent.
Meshal Al-Mutairi is an award-winning film director and video editor in Jeddah who graduated from King Abdulaziz University’s College of Communication and Media, Department of Audiovisual Production.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 2.5/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Not too scary. Content warning: jump scares, blood, mysterious figure, implied death.
Religious content: Verbal religious invocations.
Enmity Djinn | 2023 | 19 mins | Mauritania
Directed by: Mohamed Echkouna
Description: Based on local Mauritanian djinn folktales, the story follows an elderly woman confronting an ancient, malevolent djinn that haunted her childhood and brings out the worst in human beings.
Mohamed Echkouna is a filmmaker and VFX Technical Director from Mauritania. His passion for film and belief in its power to guide emotions and reshape perspectives within and about African cultures are the main drivers of his career. He co-wrote and directed Enmity Djinn for Netflix & UNESCO’s “African Folktales Reimagined” anthology. Echkouna is currently working on a variety of shows, commercials, and VR projects for Framestore clients including HBO, Netflix and Showtime.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 2/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Creepy slow burn, but no gore. Content warning: references to sihr, black magic, jinn; implied killing of women and manipulation of children by jinn.
Religious content: Islamic prayer, jinn.
Ladies Coffee | 2024 | 10 mins | UK/Syria/UAE
Directed by: Amal Al-Agroobi
Description: Matchmaking busybody Roula invites Zeina and her daughter Reem over for Arabic coffee. When young Reem is encouraged to participate in a coffee cup-reading ritual, she gets more than she bargained for. In true Lovecraftian fashion, the ritual goes awry–she can no longer unsee what she now sees, she can no longer un-hear what she now hears, and things will never be the same again.
Amal Al-Agroobi is a London-based Arab filmmaker who comes from a biomedical sciences and neurosciences background. Her passion lies in social, character-driven stories that discuss identity and social injustice, often in the context of science fiction. Al-Agroobi’s film career began in 2012 when her short documentary HALF EMIRATI premiered at the Dubai Film Festival. She followed up in 2013 with a feature documentary about autism, disability, and special needs in the Middle East titled THE BRAIN THAT SINGS, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Dubai International Film Festival and changed government legislation in the UAE, creating positive social impact for special needs children in education. Her other films include UNDER THE HAT, VANISH IN SMOKE, and THE PROTOCOL.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 1/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Ominous and creepy, but not scary. Content warning: jump scare, patriarchy. Religious content: minimal.
Aicha | 2025 | 25 mins | Morocco
Directed by: Sanaa El Alaoui
Description: A 17-year-old girl grapples with her emotionally distant mother as her life takes a tragic turn. In an effort to confront her grief and the fractured bond with her daughter, the mother participates in a mystic Amazigh gnawa ceremony.
Moroccan director and screenwriter Sanaa El Alaoui made her directorial debut with ICARUS, a Hungarian short documentary that received the Bronze Award for Best Short Documentary at the 4th Quarter of the Queen Palm International Film Festival in California; Best Short Documentary at the International Film Festival of Oued Noun; the Grand Prize for Best Short Film at the National Film Festival of Cinema of the Margin in Guercif; and the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the International Film Festival of Casablanca.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 3/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: The true horror is other human beings, rather than the supernatural. Violence and implied violence. Features folkloric figure Aicha Kandicha, possession, sacrificed animals, and jinn. Content warning: sexual assault and murder of a teen girl, dead animals, giving birth, menstruation, patriarchy.
Religious content: Islamic du‘a, prayer, ghusl of female body, mention of jinn, Qur’an
A Lullaby Unlike Any Other | 2024 | 10 mins | Tunisia and Sweden
Directed by: Amani Jaafer
Description: Nour, a young Palestinian woman refugee, wanders the streets of Stockholm, Sweden, haunted by those left behind in Gaza. She hears her sister’s voice recounting their life in Gaza with their brother Shady and their grandmother.
Amani Jaafer is a Tunisian artist and scientist based in Stockholm. While studying engineering, she attended the Stockholm Film School and participated in various screenwriting workshops. Soon after that, she made her directorial debut with the film JE TE FERAI UN FILM, which has been selected by more than 15 festivals worldwide and won the Best Short Crystal Pine at the International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF). Jaafer’s project A CURIOUS BOY was selected for the Short Script Lab at the Doha Film Institute. A LULLABY UNLIKE ANY OTHER is her second short, an unscripted and improvised experimental work. Currently, she is developing her first feature film, IN SEARCH OF A RHAPSODY.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 1.5/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Raw, sad. Not horror, but captures the horrors of war and occupation. Content Warning: audio violence against child and family, psychological survivor trauma.
Religious content: invokes prayer.
__________________
Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center and cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum, & the Middle Eastern Studies Department. This event is free and open to all. To watch the remaining Halaloween films, visit watch.eventive.org/halaloween.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to islamicstudies@umich.edu.
Join the Global Islamic Studies Center & the Arab American National Museum on Tuesday, October 14, 7pm at the Arab Ameircan National Museum for Muslim Horror Short Films from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia.
What is Halaloween? Halaloween screens horror films from across the globe that were made by, for, or about Muslims, to understand: “What scares Muslim audiences? Are horror movies halal?”
This year’s 2025 film festival runs throughout October on Tuesdays. Halaloween will showcase one film streaming online from October 1-15; a montage of short films in-person at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn on Tuesday, October 14 at 7pm; and two in-person screenings at the State Theatre, on Tuesday October 21 and 28 at 7pm.
The festival is free in-person and online–but make sure to reserve tickets! In-person screenings will be first-come, first-served with RSVPs strongly encouraged.
We are inclusive of everyone's film needs: from new horror fans who close their eyes through most scary movies, to those who love the gore–we've got films for everyone! Check the Halaloween Horror Rating in the description of each film for its scariness rating and other details.
The 2025 Halaloween Lineup:
October 1-15: Xoftex | Greece/Palestine/Syria | 2024 | Online Screening
October 14: Short Films | Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia | 7:00pm | Arab American National Museum (Dearborn)
October 21: Agora | Tunisia | 2024 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre
October 28: Algiers | Algeria | 2024 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre
RSVP & stream our online selection: watch.eventive.org/halaloween
__________________
THIS WEEK’S FEATURE: Muslim Horror Short Films from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia at the Arab American National Museum
On Tuesday, October 14, join us in-person at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) to watch five horror short films from across the Muslim world. Shorts include Building 13 (Meshal Almutairi, Saudi Arabia), Enmity Djinn (Mohamed Echkouna, Mauritania), Ladies Coffee (Amal Al-Agroobi, UK/Syria/UAE), Aicha (Sanaa El Alaoui, Morocco), A Lullaby Unlike Any Other (Amani Jaafer, Tunisia/Sweden). A short talkback with Halaloween curators & refreshments will follow. RSVP encouraged. Check out the rest of the month’s Halaloween Horror selection: http://watch.eventive.org/halaloween.
Film Descriptions:
Building 13 | 2024 | 9 min | Saudi Arabia
Directed by: Meshal Al-Mutairi
Description: Intrigued by the mysterious Building 13, horror enthusiast Safwan defies warnings and enters, only to be trapped inside by supernatural forces. Through cryptic clues, he must solve riddles involving the number 13 to escape, all while being pursued by a bloodied figure with deadly intent.
Meshal Al-Mutairi is an award-winning film director and video editor in Jeddah who graduated from King Abdulaziz University’s College of Communication and Media, Department of Audiovisual Production.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 2.5/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Not too scary. Content warning: jump scares, blood, mysterious figure, implied death.
Religious content: Verbal religious invocations.
Enmity Djinn | 2023 | 19 mins | Mauritania
Directed by: Mohamed Echkouna
Description: Based on local Mauritanian djinn folktales, the story follows an elderly woman confronting an ancient, malevolent djinn that haunted her childhood and brings out the worst in human beings.
Mohamed Echkouna is a filmmaker and VFX Technical Director from Mauritania. His passion for film and belief in its power to guide emotions and reshape perspectives within and about African cultures are the main drivers of his career. He co-wrote and directed Enmity Djinn for Netflix & UNESCO’s “African Folktales Reimagined” anthology. Echkouna is currently working on a variety of shows, commercials, and VR projects for Framestore clients including HBO, Netflix and Showtime.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 2/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Creepy slow burn, but no gore. Content warning: references to sihr, black magic, jinn; implied killing of women and manipulation of children by jinn.
Religious content: Islamic prayer, jinn.
Ladies Coffee | 2024 | 10 mins | UK/Syria/UAE
Directed by: Amal Al-Agroobi
Description: Matchmaking busybody Roula invites Zeina and her daughter Reem over for Arabic coffee. When young Reem is encouraged to participate in a coffee cup-reading ritual, she gets more than she bargained for. In true Lovecraftian fashion, the ritual goes awry–she can no longer unsee what she now sees, she can no longer un-hear what she now hears, and things will never be the same again.
Amal Al-Agroobi is a London-based Arab filmmaker who comes from a biomedical sciences and neurosciences background. Her passion lies in social, character-driven stories that discuss identity and social injustice, often in the context of science fiction. Al-Agroobi’s film career began in 2012 when her short documentary HALF EMIRATI premiered at the Dubai Film Festival. She followed up in 2013 with a feature documentary about autism, disability, and special needs in the Middle East titled THE BRAIN THAT SINGS, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Dubai International Film Festival and changed government legislation in the UAE, creating positive social impact for special needs children in education. Her other films include UNDER THE HAT, VANISH IN SMOKE, and THE PROTOCOL.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 1/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Ominous and creepy, but not scary. Content warning: jump scare, patriarchy. Religious content: minimal.
Aicha | 2025 | 25 mins | Morocco
Directed by: Sanaa El Alaoui
Description: A 17-year-old girl grapples with her emotionally distant mother as her life takes a tragic turn. In an effort to confront her grief and the fractured bond with her daughter, the mother participates in a mystic Amazigh gnawa ceremony.
Moroccan director and screenwriter Sanaa El Alaoui made her directorial debut with ICARUS, a Hungarian short documentary that received the Bronze Award for Best Short Documentary at the 4th Quarter of the Queen Palm International Film Festival in California; Best Short Documentary at the International Film Festival of Oued Noun; the Grand Prize for Best Short Film at the National Film Festival of Cinema of the Margin in Guercif; and the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the International Film Festival of Casablanca.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 3/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: The true horror is other human beings, rather than the supernatural. Violence and implied violence. Features folkloric figure Aicha Kandicha, possession, sacrificed animals, and jinn. Content warning: sexual assault and murder of a teen girl, dead animals, giving birth, menstruation, patriarchy.
Religious content: Islamic du‘a, prayer, ghusl of female body, mention of jinn, Qur’an
A Lullaby Unlike Any Other | 2024 | 10 mins | Tunisia and Sweden
Directed by: Amani Jaafer
Description: Nour, a young Palestinian woman refugee, wanders the streets of Stockholm, Sweden, haunted by those left behind in Gaza. She hears her sister’s voice recounting their life in Gaza with their brother Shady and their grandmother.
Amani Jaafer is a Tunisian artist and scientist based in Stockholm. While studying engineering, she attended the Stockholm Film School and participated in various screenwriting workshops. Soon after that, she made her directorial debut with the film JE TE FERAI UN FILM, which has been selected by more than 15 festivals worldwide and won the Best Short Crystal Pine at the International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF). Jaafer’s project A CURIOUS BOY was selected for the Short Script Lab at the Doha Film Institute. A LULLABY UNLIKE ANY OTHER is her second short, an unscripted and improvised experimental work. Currently, she is developing her first feature film, IN SEARCH OF A RHAPSODY.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 1.5/5 Pumpkins
Rating explanation: Raw, sad. Not horror, but captures the horrors of war and occupation. Content Warning: audio violence against child and family, psychological survivor trauma.
Religious content: invokes prayer.
__________________
Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center and cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, the Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum, & the Middle Eastern Studies Department. This event is free and open to all. To watch the remaining Halaloween films, visit watch.eventive.org/halaloween.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies.
