Synopsis
Listed shares the story of Faizal Karim, a Canadian man falsely flagged on the Canadian No-Fly List, a terrorist watch list under the Passenger Protect Program. Through Faizal’s personal account of racial profiling and detainment due to being falsely flagged, the film exposes the systemic issues underlying the No-Fly List and its impact on marginalized communities. By examining the potential and historical consequences of relying on a flawed listing regime to identify potential threats to national security, the film highlights the dangerous erosion of rights Canadians face at the expense of their civil liberties and freedoms.
A word from Tënk
Is the "post-9/11" era truly over? Have we moved on to another chapter in our existence on the grand continuum of modern history, or are we still being impacted by the waves generated by the media tsunami of September 11, 2001? Asking this question implies that there is no clear consensus, as the ramifications of that time do not affect us in the same way.
Listed, by filmmaker Leila Almawy, invites us to meet Faizal and his family, who are invisibilized and ostracized because of their heritage and name due to systemic bigotry. To this day, they still have to fight against a cold and bureaucratic system, specifically the No-Fly List, which has falsely identified them as "threats to society."
This infamous list may be considered by some as a necessary evil, an obstacle that Faizal must learn to live with. However, just listening to this man for a few minutes is enough to understand how this tool is one of the most glaring and pernicious examples of systemic racism in Canada. After all, how else can one justify the day when Faizal’s son, barely a few months old at the time, was also added to the list… if not through racism?
Jason Todd
Artistic Director
Tënk
Presented in collaboration with
