Amani Means Faith
A lighthearted comedy about the grand opening of a Hijabi’s hair salon.
Written and Directed by: Nur Jannah Zainol
Currently in pre-production
Nur Jannah Zainol is a Northern Film School graduate who received her BA (Hons) in Filmmaking with a First Class Honours in 2020.
Prior to University, she spent 3 years creating social media content for Singapore's leading artiste management company, FLY Entertainment. She single-handedly conceptualised, directed, shot and edited online videos for FLY while simultaneously servicing some of her own clients. She even dabbled in managing all of FLY’s social media. In her time at FLY, she created videos for campaigns which bagged several awards at the Marketing Event Awards 2015 & 2016.
In 2017, Jannah decided to pursue her passion for filmmaking by honing her skills and enrolling to University in the U.K. Her decision to pursue higher education had been supported by Mendaki, a Singaporean organisation for Malay/Muslims. She was awarded with the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award 2017 which recognised her contribution and potential, serving as an inspiration to youths in the community.
In University, Jannah had been recognised by peers and lectures as a reliable and capable leader. She has successfully directed 1 documentary, 1 experimental and 2 dramas in her time at the Northern Film School. Both the dramas and experimental short films were written/co-written by her as well. In 2019, she was on set as a Production Runner for a BFI-funded short film, “Scrum”.
The story
Amani is a vibrant and self-assured young woman who radiates a childlike confidence in herself. Followed by a documentary crew on the day of the opening of her hair salon, she is being asked difficult questions by the interviewer regarding her being a Hijabi hairstylist. Whilst responding with comedic confidence and graciousness, she works hard to get customers into her non-discriminatory hair salon, which is open to everyone from all walks of life.
The film teaches us the importance of having faith in oneself while also gaining a deeper understanding to the taboo questions that everyone has about a Hijabi’s life.
Director’s statement
Ever since young, I witnessed my older sister fight many battles, both internally and externally, for her choice of putting a veil over her head. Being a Hijabi for her meant dealing with prejudices even before she had the chance to speak a word. What we saw in the mainstream media on the idea of beauty or Islam did not make her journey any easier. I think it is so important that we share stories like these so that we can better empathise with our fellow human beings coming from all walks of life. And for people like my sister, we empower them to have faith. Not just in their religion, but in themselves. Like Amani, you can brave and achieve anything if you set your heart to it.
-Jannah