Houston-raised filmmaker wins prestigious award for directorial debut: Istikhara, New York

HOUSTON - We all hear success stories from those who have made their dreams come true, but little is said about the moments right before, where self-doubt and fear of ‘what if I’m not meant for this?’ are an everyday thought. 

Yasir Masood’s directorial film debut, Istikhara, New York, tells exactly that story through the lens of an American Muslim aspiring to be an actor in New York City, while facing troubles as a food courier to make ends meet. 

During the 38th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, which was held in May, Masood's movie helped him earn the Emerging Filmmaker award.   

The film, which Masood also co-wrote and produced, takes inspiration from the Islamic prayer, Istikhara, which involves asking God for assistance when making a difficult decision. 

"There's something really beautiful, I've always found about that specific prayer," Masood explained. "It kind of captures the character's mentality, or what he's going through - just thinking about what his place is in life, what moves he should make; what decisions he should make to grow his career, grow himself as a person."

Additionally, the movie title is a play on the famous 2008 psychological drama, Synecdoche, New York. 

"I wanted to create a name that was a spiritual place in New York - or a mental place in New York for characters that only existed for our characters," Masood added. "Because our characters' version of New York is so much different than what most people are used to… so because of that, it made sense for this to be a [physical] place, but then also, I love the idea of that prayer, I think it matched philosophically what the character is going through."

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Masood, who was raised in southwest Houston, noted that a movie documenting the immigrant Muslim experience was very personal to him, especially considering his own challenges, as someone of South Asian descent, in becoming a filmmaker. 

"When you're coming from somewhere like Houston or have an immigrant background, and you don't have any family in this industry and like family and all your friends don't understand how somebody could even say how somebody wants to be an artist or want to be a filmmaker," he said. "I think when you're in an environment like that, being able to convince yourself that you could do it is very, very difficult; and on top of that, it's like, very difficult in this industry to move up or to navigate if you don't have some type of connection to people." 

"So to sort of come from Texas - not to say it's impossible - because it's absolutely not right…I think it's such a strength to be from Texas or to have an immigrant background," Masood added. "It's like an absolute strength in this industry, and as a human being, but I think like the most difficult thing was to be able to try to enter this industry without any type of connection, any type of mentorship. I think a lot of that stuff is changing last few years, but at the same time because there's not a lot of [South Asians] in this industry, it's just very hard to kind of get in and then and then and being able to understand how it works."

Based on that, the movie might appear semi-autobiographical but Masood stressed that as a "coming of age" film, it was meant to be relatable for any viewer. 

"I think it's definitely autobiographical in spirit," he said. "What I was hoping is that it feels like it's autobiographical for anybody in their mid-20s."

What takes the film to the next level, is that it briefly touches on the COVID-19 pandemic's global shutdown being another obstacle for the main character trying to become an actor.

"You're coming out of school, you're in your mid-20s, you're trying to navigate life, you're trying to navigate your career, and especially [the entertainment] industry," Masood explained. "And then once you're told, 'everything's going to shut down for like, two years,' it's like, 'we don't even have our footing yet in our own industries,' - we're not even on the ladder yet and the ladder disappears."

During the shutdown, Masood spent a majority of the time writing up the screenplay and once restrictions eased up, they were able to film and complete the project just in time to submit it to festivals. 

"One of the hardest things and one of the proudest things is like, is like honestly finishing the script," he admitted. "Because that was just so like, for some reason that was just so hard, and unfathomable for some reason. To me, I always thought like, how could somebody write such a big thing." 

All the hard work and dedication resulted in Masood winning the Emerging Filmmaker Award during the 38th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. 

In explaining the experience of accepting the award, Masood called it indescribable and inspiring.

"It's a tough question…you accept it Alhamdulillah (praise to God) - just so grateful for the festival for championing our film and championing me," Masood said. "It's amazing, it feels great, but really it invigorates you and helps you contextualize that there's a lot more work to be done… there's more films to make and this is just the start; and I think, I think that's what's really cool about it - is that it validates the start. It's a good pinpoint on the beginning of the journey."

The film is not available for streaming or hitting regular movie theaters just yet, but negotiations are underway. 

"WE just started our festival run, So we probably have a few more months on our festival run," Masood said. "And then after that, we have plans to take it streamers, essentially [but] that's all I can say about that right now."

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When the time comes for the public to see the film, Masood is even more excited, as the positive feedback he's received has been one of his proudest moments. 

"Once people see it in theaters, and you start getting feedback, and you start seeing that this is affecting people's lives or this enrich people's lives, or for people who saw themselves and this character and this line and stuff like that, that makes every that makes the whole journey work that's that makes a whole year and a half journey worth it," Masood said. "Like all the blood, sweat, and tears were worth it." 

"Just hearing from people that say, ‘hey, this [movie] meant a lot to me,’ and ‘I see so much my own life in this film,’ and that means the world, that's what it's all about," he concluded. "That's the best feeling in the world."