Witness
Client: A Dose of Soul, AlGhorbah
Synopsis: A revered small-town imam faces a crisis of faith when he must choose between upholding the values of his mosque or protecting the safety and spiritual belonging of a male congregant.
Title treatment for Witness (2024). This short film explores the character of Shams, a trans man who is asked to sign on as a witness for a local congregant’s marriage. When his identiy is revealed, it brings on conflict within the small community in an American city.
The bilingual design of the title is inspired by Islamic marriage contract documents, where both parties sign along with the witnesses. Rather than create separate parallel treatments for the different scripts, I integrated them as one composition—the Arabic being the base acting as the dotted line, while the English title acting as the signature. This highlights the tension between tradition and assimilation in diaspora.
The bilingual design of the title is inspired by Islamic marriage contract documents, where both parties sign along with the witnesses. Rather than create separate parallel treatments for the different scripts, I integrated them as one composition—the Arabic being the base acting as the dotted line, while the English title acting as the signature. This highlights the tension between tradition and assimilation in diaspora.