Our mission is to celebrate and elevate Muslim storytelling through film by creating opportunities for emerging filmmakers to share their work with wider audiences. The festival will showcase a curated selection of short films from up-and-coming Muslim artists whose perspectives deserve greater visibility.
Our Team
Nawal Mubin
Co-Founder & Festival Director
Nawal Mubin is a New York City based director and producer. She earned her MFA in Producing from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. She currently works as an Associate Producer at Lost in Space, a boutique production and post-production company based in NYC. Alongside her full-time role, she continues to freelance as a producer on numerous short films and writes community focused stories that uplift and celebrate. In 2025, she announced the launch of the first ever New York Muslim Film Festival, further solidifying her commitment to creating space and visibility for underrepresented voices.
Her directorial debut, Hungama, marked the start of this exact ethos in her career. The film premiered in her hometown at the Nassau Film Festival, where it won Best of the Fest in its category, was selected for the Rung Film Festival in Houston, had its European premiere at the UK Asian Film Festival, and finally premiered in New York, at the Imagine This Women’s Film Festival. Planting the seeds for a NYC film festival that curates specifically for the Muslim world.
Giuseppe de Matteis
Co-Founder & CTO
Giuseppe de Matteis is a New York-based filmmaker and post-production professional, serving as Media Manager and Lead Assistant Editor at Lost in Space. He oversees ingest, archiving, and editorial workflows on commercial projects that have appeared on platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. He also works directly with independent filmmakers, offering services ranging from editing to conform.
Giuseppe studied post-production at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, where he edited numerous short films such as Jean and I and Hungama, these films went on for notable festival runs. Jean and I won the Grand Prize in the African American category – East Region at the 30th Annual DGA Student Film Awards and was also screened at the New York African American Film Festival. Whereas, Hungama earned selections on both sides of the Atlantic, premiering at the UK Asian Film Festival and screening at the Nassau Film Festival in Princeton, New Jersey.
Giuseppe is as passionate about storytelling as he is about post-production. He believes deeply in platforming the stories of underrepresented communities and giving them space to be seen on their own terms. As Co-Founder of NYMFF his objective is more specific, a commitment to uplifting Muslim voices that mainstream media too often overlooks.
Aneesa Khan
Head of Communications & Co-Head of Film Programming
Aneesa Khan is a Pakistani American filmmaker, producer, writer, and founder and CEO of Aneesa Talks, a film and media company focused on South Asian and Muslim storytelling. A Northwestern University alumna, she has worked across film and television since age 15, with experience in producing, development, programming, and communications, including roles at Blumhouse Productions and Women in Entertainment.
Her credits include Criteria Kya Hai?, which she wrote, directed, and produced, The Girl With Anklets, which she wrote and directed, and Mirrors, on which she serves as Associate Producer and Film Consultant, alongside producing work across 10+ independent films. She is currently developing her debut feature as a producer, Nepenthe, directed by Jibran Ahmed, and is a 2025 Tasveer Film Festival Producer’s Lab participant.
She is also the founder of the Pakistani Creative Collective, a global database connecting Pakistani creatives across film, music, fashion, art, and media. She currently serves as Head of Communications and Co-Head of Film Programming for the New York Muslim Film Festival.
Iman Qureshi
Head of Strategy & Operations
Iman Qureshi is a New York-based finance professional and strategist with experience across corporate and investment banking, including M&A, capital markets, valuations, and credit. She holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is the founder of Voice of Equality, a grassroots nonprofit focused on diversity and community impact.
At NYMFF, she leads strategy and operations, translating the festival’s vision into strategic partnerships, financial planning, and the organizational infrastructure required to execute and scale it.
Hassan Babar
Artistic Director & Co-Head of Film Programming
Hassan Babar is an actor, producer and filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. Trained in Theatre at SFU’s School of Contemporary Arts, under the mentorships of Erika Latta (WaxFactory NYC), Patrick Sabongui (300, Hunting Party) and Cole Lewis (Director, Acting Program – TMU).
He has performed in theatre productions including Far Away by Caryl Churchill, Above the Hospital directed by Beau Han Bridge – Soulpepper Theatre and Amalgamation, which he wrote & directed. His film credits include the forthcoming To Remain, To Return, directed by Arshad Mohamed, More Chai Please, directed by Roha Hena and Ahmed, directed by Sabreen El Awad.
His practice also spans the North American film and festival landscape, working across programming, community-led cultural initiatives, and film productions. He’s worked and collaborated with organizations such as LaunchGood, Mosquers, Muslim Media Hub, CCMW, and Shoot for Peace. Currently Hassan is a member of the 2026 Reel Asian Screening Committee, sits on the board of Frames of Sudan, is a producer with Orange Tree as well as StartBAD Studios.
Maryam Khamisha
Chief of Staff
Maryam Khamisha is a New York-based business and operations professional whose experience spans entertainment, financial services, and international consulting. She currently works at The Walt Disney Company, where she supports financial planning, forecasting, and strategic analysis across its television networks, and previously held roles at EY and Deloitte. She is an alumna of The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, where she earned both a master’s degree and a BBA.
At NYMFF, she works across partnerships, programming, communications, and operations to help translate the festival’s vision into relationships, programming, and organizational infrastructure. Her work has included outreach to emerging Muslim filmmakers and creatives, jury and guest engagement, sponsorship research, and the development of the festival’s internal systems and communications.