A Local Gastroenterologist & Award-Winning Filmmaker Shoots A Short Film At Her New Tampa Home

One young American woman of Muslim descent decides that she wants to start wearing a hijab (the Muslim head scarf), while another decides she doesnât want to wear one anymore.
A discussion at the local mosque on Morris Bridge Rd.? Perhaps, but itâs also the basis of the story for âAmerican Fabric,â a short film being shot in part in the K-Bar Ranch community that is being directed by K-Bar resident and local gastroenterologist Dr. Nyla Hazratjee.

Nyla, who also wrote the script for âAmerican Fabric,â is already an award-winning filmmaker. She was the executive producer of the full-length feature film âThe Persian Version,â a heartwarming âdramedyâ that made its debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and ended up winning two prestigious awards there â the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for writer/director Maryan Keshavarz.
But, Nyla says that âAmerican Fabricâ is her first foray into writing and directing a film herself and she called our office just a couple of days before we went to press with this issue to invite us to her home in K-Bar Ranch to take pictures and interview her. She told me that her short film, which she hopes to have completed in time for the domestic film festival season this spring and summer, is âreally about empowering women.â
âIâm a producer by trade and also by personality,â Dr. Nyla Hazratjee told me following the first of three days of shooting for âAmerican Fabric,â the film she wrote and which represents her directorial debut. âI think lots of women are producers in their lives as well, so I think that led me to that part of the film industry.â
As for why she decided to direct this time around, she said, âI wrote the film and I knew what I wanted it to look like, so who else?â
As for the filmâs subject matter â the decision by young Muslim women as to whether or not they want to wear the hijab, Nyla said, âI do wear the head scarf, but I didnât always. And, I think every day I have to make the choice as to whether or not I want to keep wearing it. I know so many women who either didnât wear it but started wearing it and so many more who did wear it and decided to not wear it anymore.â
But, she adds, that choice isnât really what the film is about, âItâs really about my body, my choice, and I believe that most women can relate to this kind of a story. Itâs a personal story, but I believe it should have a wide relatability.â

She added, âMy body, my choice is about feminism but it isnât just about taking it off, itâs also about putting it on â and that itâs really up to you what you do with your body. But, in womenâs world, so many other people feel that they have agency over a womanâs agency.â
The two main characters in âAmerican Fabricâ are Lina (played by Hana Soomro), a young model who decides during a photo shoot that she wants to start wearing a hijab, and Nila (played by Carina Conti), who is a hijabi who decides she wants to stop wearing hers.
âThereâs a quiet acceptance that comes into these girlsâ lives, as they come to their [separate] decisions,â Nyla says, âdespite all of the opposition that theyâre receiving from their friends, their families, men…to say, âThis is what I want to do and Iâm going to do it regardless.ââ
Nyla, who is actually from Pakistan herself, said that part of her motivation to make âAmerican Fabricâ was because, âWhat we call âBrown Hollywood,â or Muslim Hollywood, is made up of a diaspora (a group of people who share a cultural, religious or regional origin but who live outside of their traditional homelands) â so Muslim, Middle Eastern, North African and all of those other voices combined. So, when we meet each other, we meet as if weâre old friends. Some of the actors in this film are of Persian (from Iran) descent, some are Pakistani, some are Indian and some are not of that region at all.â

She also is proud of the mix of ethnicities in her mostly female cast and crew. âOur cinematgrapher is Chinese American, our first assistant director (AD) is Caucasian…I think we have all of our bases covered as far as races are concerned. And, weâre also mostly a local Florida cast and crew.â
Nyla also gives a shout-out to the Tampa Bay Film Commission. âTheyâve been wonderful, super-helpful and they try very hard to accommodate the things that a filmmaker needs to make a film happen here. So, weâre super lucky.â
As for the film itself, Nyla said the names of the two female leads were chosen intentionally.
âOne is Nila and the other is Lina, so theyâre like two sides of the same coin, even though theyâre not at all the same personality-wise,â Nyla said. âBut, all of their experiences throughout the day, as we end up as this party, are similar, even though they come to very opposite decisions. But, isnât that the female condition? Thatâs really what we want to show.â
She added that she definitely relates to both characters, âAnd I think that most women will relate to pieces of each one of those characters. And thatâs what Iâm really hoping for.â

Nyla also said that now that production of the film has wrapped, she has a wonderful, experienced, super-talented film editor, originally from Egypt, and she expects that it will take âabout a month, if weâre really good about it,â to edit the film. âWe really want to catch the film festival season, which starts about April/May, so that we can take it to all women-centric festivals, all Muslim-centric festivals, all Florida festivals, hopefully some international festivals and some of the major festivals that we will do our best to get into. Weâre excited about pushing the story and getting as many people as possible to experience this film.â
Nyla also has a nonprofit film production company called NY/LA Productions, which is, âa female-driven, female-centric production company which produces and promotes films with female and Muslimeen (female Muslim) voices. âWe look for funding from federal and local grants, as well as local donors,â she said. âWe just received an $8,000 grant from a nonprofit charity called â200 Muslim Women Who Care,â which is based here in Tampa Bay.â
She also noted that NY/LA Productions also promotes, produces and develops âprojects in the making, finished projects that need to be promoted, and invite audiences to view them.â

Nyla also mentioned working with a University of Florida professor named Iman Zawahry, who directed âAmericanish,â a 2021 feature film that NY/LA Productions helped bring to the Tampa Theatre for a screening with about 400 people who attended, âand âAmericanishâ has been acquired for release by several screening services, which is really great for them,â Nyla says. âImanâs been a great mentor for me and other young and aspiring filmmakers.â
She added, âWe do often get scripts sent to us and we see if they fit what weâre trying to do. And, if theyâre in line with our ideas and goals, we are happy to help.â
As for how âAmerican Fabricâ will be distributed, Nyla said, âShort films are tough for distribution, but there are now some streaming services that will acquire short films, including WeShort and Hollywood Just4Shorts, to get short films to a greater audience. HBO does acquire some shorts and we will try our best to find a place to distribute it. Otherwise, Iâm sure we can find somebody to acquire us for a streamer. And, thereâs always YouTube and Vimeo. The film also will be available to anyone who goes to our website, NY-LA-Production.org.â
As for how this married, busy mom-of-two gastroenterologist finds the time for the film business, she says, âI donât know, midnight-4 a,m.? When you have a passion for something, you find the time. Where thereâs a will, thereâs a way, right?â




