FVTV original film interview ·
Wear the Hijab or Take It Off? American Fabric Shows Why Women Get Judged Either Way.
Director Nyla Hazratjee and actress Hana Aisha tell FVTV how their short film turns two opposite headscarf decisions into a conversation about agency, judgment and representation.
One woman wants to wear a headscarf. Another wants to stop wearing one. In American Fabric, the decisions point in opposite directions, but the scrutiny the women face has an uncomfortable amount in common.
Director Nyla Hazratjee and actress Hana Aisha joined FVTV for an October 14 conversation hosted by Shordy. Their 13-minute short follows Pakistani-American women negotiating personal choices amid competing expectations about religion, identity and how a woman should present herself.
The film gives them different paths without declaring one correct. The people around them still feel entitled to weigh in. That tension shaped the discussion with FVTV, which moved from the story itself to casting, the women behind the camera and the reactions the filmmakers hope to spark.
Two opposite choices. The same judgment.
Hazratjee describes the central conflict in terms of women's agency. The movie follows two characters whose opposite headscarf decisions invite similar external pressure. She says the point is wider than any single religious garment: other people repeatedly behave as if women's choices belong to them.
The director notes that pressure can come from conservative expectations and from supposedly more liberal spaces. Her concern is with the expectation that women must justify themselves to somebody, whichever direction they choose.
Hana Aisha saw a role that rarely comes along.
Aisha, who plays Lina, recalls being excited to see a casting notice for Pakistani-American women. She wanted to take on a role written from a background she could recognize and offer an experience she felt capable of portraying accurately.
She and Hazratjee also discuss the work of locating the character's inner life beyond her visible clothing decisions. Playing a choice convincingly meant understanding the pressures around it without turning the character into a stand-in for an entire community.
The audition detail the director remembered.
Hazratjee recalls that Aisha's audition made an impression because she brought a makeup brush and acted out the preparation scene as part of her read. The small physical choice helped her stand apart from other auditions and made the performance feel inhabited.
The conversation then shifts to the working environment. Aisha remembers seeing so many women, including Pakistani women, on set. Hazratjee describes intentionally assembling a female-led and culturally diverse production team, saying those collaborators shaped the result.
Why the filmmakers refuse to explain every decision.
Asked why the film leaves some of the characters' motivations unresolved, Hazratjee says that was deliberate. She resisted writing a single defining incident that would explain why a woman chooses to wear or remove her headscarf.
The filmmakers question a double standard: men may change their appearance casually, while women's choices can be treated as public declarations requiring an elaborate defense. Aisha approached her performance by imagining the character's history and supplying nuance that did not need to be spelled out on the page.
One film, different audiences.
Ahead of American Fabric's October 14 Tasveer festival presentation, Hazratjee and Aisha considered how audiences familiar with South Asian and Muslim experiences might respond differently from viewers with little personal context for those communities.
They welcome those distinct readings, including uncomfortable questions. Hazratjee describes the experience of audiences discovering different meanings in the same work as part of what makes storytelling worthwhile.
The next goal is getting the film seen.
The filmmakers say they are seeking distribution for the short and hope future opportunities will support a longer project. They speak about possibilities after the festival run, not a confirmed streaming-platform deal.
The interview ends with a wider point about patience, creating opportunities for underrepresented voices and the work needed to keep a filmmaking career moving. Both guests emphasize the value of making a film that leaves viewers with something to discuss.