Filed under: News
Evan Ross was recently at the 14th Annual Urbanword Film Festival where his latest film, 'Mooz-lum,' took the prize for Best Narrative Feature.
Written and Directed by Qasim Basir, the film stars Ross, Danny Glover, Nia Long, Roger Guenevere Smith, Dorian Missick, Summer Bishil, and Kimberley Drummond.
Missick, who had spoken to Black Voices prior to the festival, stated that the film "is about a young Muslim (played by Ross) at a crossroads in his life and beliefs and how he navigates that just days before the 9/11 attacks. My character, Professor Jamal, is a young muslim professor who strikes up a mentoring relationship with Evan's character. I also have a strained -- to say the least -- relationship with Danny Glover's character who's the narrow minded dean of the university I teach at and Evan attends. It's an important film and I'm really proud of the work everyone did in it."
Ross, who attended the festival with his girlfriend Cora Skinner, spoke to Black Voices about preparing ffor his role as a Muslim.
Have the previous films you've done given you enough experience to take on a challenging role?
Evan Ross: Yes, every film I've done has been a preparation for the next one. I'm just understanding my craft and how I like to work, so it's been a process of that and having the opportunity to put it to work. It's been an amazing experience.
How else did you prepare for the part?
ER: Learning the Koran was a big part. Just learning about the religion, I felt that I wanted to have as much information as possible before I started shooting the film.
What's next on your plate?
ER: A ton of things. I have a film called 'Black Water Transit,' and another film called '96 Minutes.' I also just finished shooting '90210.'
