The way to Mecca
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The way to Mecca |
| Country of production | Austria |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Georg Misch |
| script | Georg Misch |
| production |
Mischief Films Ralph Wieser Peter Janecek (Production Management ) |
| music | Jim Howard |
| camera | Joerg Burger |
| cut | Marek Kralovsky |
The Way to Mecca is a documentary by the Austrian director Georg Misch about the Islamic author Leopold Weiss alias Muhammad Asad .
The Jew Leopold Weiss set off on a trip to the Middle East in the early 1920s . The desert pulls him under its spell, Islam becomes his spiritual home. He left Judaism behind, converted to Islam and now called himself Muhammad Asad. He becomes one of the most important Muslims of the 20th century: he is an advisor to the royal court of Saudi Arabia , translates the Koran , becomes a co-founder of Pakistan and ultimately a UN ambassador . From the deserts of Arabia to Ground Zero , the director follows the traces that have already been blown away, finding someone who was not looking for adventure but wanted to mediate between Orient and Occident .
action
The journey of Muhammad Asad follows the life path of Leopold Weiss alias Muhammad Asad, from the outskirts of the former Danube monarchy to Israel , Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and New York . He visits the places where he once stayed. At the same time, a complex picture of Islam is emerging.
At the stops of the journey, Asad's reflections on today's problems between Orient and Occident are contrasted. The film team follows in his footsteps and meets people from his immediate environment on the reconstructed life path: family and friends, experts and scientists , admirers of his work as well as numerous chance acquaintances who know a lot, nothing or only little about the forgotten reformist.
Prices
- DIAGONALE, Festival of Austrian Films, April 2008:
- Best image creation documentary: Joerg Burger
- Planete Doc Warsaw, May 2009
- Prize for ecumenical dialogue
- 1st International Documentary Film Festival Agadir, Morocco, November 2008
- Grand Jury Prize
Nominations
- 14th Sarajevo Film Festival, Bosnia-Herzegovina, August 2008:
- 4th ranked for the audience award
Web links
- A Road to Mecca at the Internet Movie Database (English)