Tirmazi

This paper has been written as an accompaniment to the 20- minute documentary, Tirmazi. The film explores the language and landscape of displacement, as told by my mother, Hanifa Shah and her experience with forced internal displacement in Pakistan, and migration to Canada. This paper examines the main differences between Ahmadi Muslims and mainstream Islam, as well as the history of Ahmadi persecution in Pakistan, in order to contextualize my mother’s displacement within Pakistan. It also delves into the process and aesthetics used to create the film, including the use of archival imagery and animation. Finally, this paper examines Tirmazi within the broader context of documentary, placing it within a hybrid genre that combines elements of poetic and performative modes and essay and animation models.