The Middle Geeks

Ibrahim Moustafa is an Egyptian-American and Eisner award nominated comic artist and writer, best-known for his original graphic novels COUNT, RETROACTIVE, CYN, JAEGER and his collaboration with writer Christopher Sebela on HIGH CRIMES, as well as his work on JAMES BOND. You'll also have seen his art in DC Comics, Marvel, Image Comics, Humanoids Inc., BOOM! Studios, Valiant Entertainment, Dynamite Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW Publishing. Recently, RETROACTIVE was selected for adaptation for a new Hulu series, with Iranian-American Bobak Esfarjani as head writer and Bruce Miller producing. We were so honored to have Ibrahim on the podcast to discuss his career, the challenges he continues to face despite his success, the continued exclusion of SWANA creatives in entertainment, and much more.
 

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

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Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Check out Ibrahim's YouTube channel

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks

Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

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What would you do to serve your country? Is engaging in propaganda patriotic or just embedding more lies to sell the populace? These are the questions acclaimed Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh explores in the final entry in his Cairo Trilogy, "Eagles of the Republic", where George Fahmy (Fares Fares) is a famous Egyptian actor recruited to appear as the country's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Mae interviewed Saleh on his creative process for the film, why he chose this subject matter, and much more. 

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks

Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!

What happened to Katie?!? That's the question at the forefront throughout Lee Cronin's The Mummy, a movie that should really be called Egyptian Exorcist or Evil Dead in Egypt. But even though this film features Egyptian and Arab actors in key supporting roles and takes place partially in Egypt, how well does it really do at representing the land and its people, and is it truly an improvement on the Orientalism baked into the Universal Mummy films? Joining us to discuss is our wonderful Egyptian-American friend and actor Ali Nasser. We discuss the film, why May Calamawy (per usual for whatever she's in) is the best part, and why it's increasingly clear that we have a narrative problem when it comes to western media depicting us, perhaps more than a representation problem.
 

Swara's review of Lee Cronin's The Mummy for But Why Tho? and his essay on The Mummy franchise's Orientalism

Hanna's New Arab review of the film and IGN essay on the film
 

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks

Follow Mae on Bluesky @maeabdu.bsky.social

Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!

Annemarie Jacir is a legend in Palestinian cinema. From acclaimed works like Salt of the Sea, Wajib, and more, her latest work, Palestine 36, is an epic tale of resistance that reverberates strongly today. Starring Hiam Abbass, Yasmine Al Massri, Saleh Bakri, Jeremy Irons, Robert Aramayo, Liam Cunningham, Karim Daoud Anaya, and others, it comes out in US theaters this weekend, and we were ecstatic to have Annemarie on the podcast to discuss the film, her career, the increasing consciousness of Palestine in the US, and much more.
 

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.


Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!

We're live once again at Awesome Con in Washington D.C.! Joined by our friends Zaina, Dary, and Ali, this year we're discussing SWANA representation in Fantasy and Sci-Fi, the barriers we continue to face, why this may be more of a narrative problem than a representation problem, and how the bad representation on screen is informed by and reflective of real world interests. Stay tuned for Q&A!

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudan

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on BlueSky @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!