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 doesnโt want to wear one anymore.
A discussion at the local mosque on Morris Bridge Rd.? Perhaps, but itโs also the basis of the story for โAmerican Fabric,โ 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 โAmerican Fabric,โ is already an award-winning filmmaker. She was the executive producer of the full-length feature film โThe Persian Version,โ a heartwarming โdramedyโ that made its debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and ended up winning two prestigious awards there โ the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for writer/director Maryan Keshavarz.
But, Nyla says that โAmerican Fabricโ 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 โreally about empowering women.โ
โIโm a producer by trade and also by personality,โ Dr. Nyla Hazratjee told me following the first of three days of shooting for โAmerican Fabric,โ the film she wrote and which represents her directorial debut. โI think lots of women are producers in their lives as well, so I think that led me to that part of the film industry.โ
As for why she decided to direct this time around, she said, โI wrote the film and I knew what I wanted it to look like, so who else?โ
As for the filmโs subject matter โ the decision by young Muslim women as to whether or not they want to wear the hijab, Nyla said, โI do wear the head scarf, but I didnโt 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 didnโt wear it but started wearing it and so many more who did wear it and decided to not wear it anymore.โ
But, she adds, that choice isnโt really what the film is about, โItโs really about my body, my choice, and I believe that most women can relate to this kind of a story. Itโs a personal story, but I believe it should have a wide relatability.โ

She added, โMy body, my choice is about feminism but it isnโt just about taking it off, itโs also about putting it on โ and that itโs really up to you what you do with your body. But, in womenโs world, so many other people feel that they have agency over a womanโs agency.โ
The two main characters in โAmerican Fabricโ 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.
โThereโs a quiet acceptance that comes into these girlsโ lives, as they come to their [separate] decisions,โ Nyla says, โdespite all of the opposition that theyโre receiving from their friends, their families, men…to say, โThis is what I want to do and Iโm going to do it regardless.โโ
Nyla, who is actually from Pakistan herself, said that part of her motivation to make โAmerican Fabricโ was because, โWhat we call โBrown Hollywood,โ 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) โ so Muslim, Middle Eastern, North African and all of those other voices combined. So, when we meet each other, we meet as if weโre 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.โ

She also is proud of the mix of ethnicities in her mostly female cast and crew. โOur 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, weโre also mostly a local Florida cast and crew.โ
Nyla also gives a shout-out to the Tampa Bay Film Commission. โTheyโve been wonderful, super-helpful and they try very hard to accommodate the things that a filmmaker needs to make a film happen here. So, weโre super lucky.โ
As for the film itself, Nyla said the names of the two female leads were chosen intentionally.
โOne is Nila and the other is Lina, so theyโre like two sides of the same coin, even though theyโre not at all the same personality-wise,โ Nyla said. โBut, 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, isnโt that the female condition? Thatโs really what we want to show.โ
She added that she definitely relates to both characters, โAnd I think that most women will relate to pieces of each one of those characters. And thatโs what Iโm really hoping for.โ

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 โabout a month, if weโre really good about it,โ to edit the film. โWe 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. Weโre excited about pushing the story and getting as many people as possible to experience this film.โ
Nyla also has a nonprofit film production company called NY/LA Productions, which is, โa female-driven, female-centric production company which produces and promotes films with female and Muslimeen (female Muslim) voices. โWe look for funding from federal and local grants, as well as local donors,โ she said. โWe just received an $8,000 grant from a nonprofit charity called โ200 Muslim Women Who Care,โ which is based here in Tampa Bay.โ
She also noted that NY/LA Productions also promotes, produces and develops โprojects in the making, finished projects that need to be promoted, and invite audiences to view them.โ

Nyla also mentioned working with a University of Florida professor named Iman Zawahry, who directed โAmericanish,โ a 2021 feature film that NY/LA Productions helped bring to the Tampa Theatre for a screening with about 400 people who attended, โand โAmericanishโ has been acquired for release by several screening services, which is really great for them,โ Nyla says. โImanโs been a great mentor for me and other young and aspiring filmmakers.โ
She added, โWe do often get scripts sent to us and we see if they fit what weโre trying to do. And, if theyโre in line with our ideas and goals, we are happy to help.โ
As for how โAmerican Fabricโ will be distributed, Nyla said, โShort 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, Iโm sure we can find somebody to acquire us for a streamer. And, thereโs always YouTube and Vimeo. The film also will be available to anyone who goes to our website,ย NY-LA-Production.org.โ
As for how this married, busy mom-of-two gastroenterologist finds the time for the film business, she says, โI donโt know, midnight-4 a,m.? When you have a passion for something, you find the time. Where thereโs a will, thereโs a way, right?โ






















































