Interview With One of the Writers Behind the Film
By Sandra Whitehead
Jul/Aug 26
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road,” the first Muslim-made and Muslim-themed animated feature in the U.S., debuted Feb. 7 and 8 in a limited run in 516 locations that quickly expanded to 660 locations after strong audience turnout. On opening weekend, it ranked No. 7 at the U.S. box office, bringing in more than $1 million in ticket sales, outselling other notable mainstream movies. Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter tagged it as a “hot, full bucket” with a 99% favorable rating from the audience.
A simultaneous release in Canada resulted in an expansion in bookings from 15 to nearly 40 Landmark Cinemas, 90% of the theater’s footprint. It also achieved significant success in its April 17 to 19 U.K. premier, opening in about 200 cinemas. The film achieved a top 10 ranking in box office performance, expanded to about 300 locations, and earned an extended run.
“Every theater had multiple screenings in multiple time slots and we also had the No. 1 average of viewers per screen,” “Time Hoppers” co–writer and director Flordeliza Dayrit told Islamic Horizons. Dayrit, a Canadian Muslim, is co-founder and chief operating officer of Muslim Kids TV, a leading children’s streaming platform for Muslim audiences.
“Time Hoppers” is now streaming on Fandango at Home (Vudu), Prime Video, Plex, and Muslim Kids TV, and the team is already working on a sequel.
“We’re getting a lot of requests from distributors and theater chains in Canada and Europe to re-release “Time Hoppers,” and from others in Asia to release it in Malaysia, Pakistan and India,” Dayrit said. “This film is a historic milestone for our community.”
Filling the Gap
Dayrit said two unique aspects of the film are its admirable Muslim characters and the Muslim team that created the movie. “The representation of Muslims, Arabs, and Southeast Asians in children’s media is less than 1%,” she noted. “Arabs are always side characters, not main characters, in mainstream children’s media, regardless of Arabs and Muslims being some of the highest taxpayers in the U.S. and Canada. I thought, ‘Well, that’s not fair. We have to do something about that.’”
When Muslim children in North America and Europe do see Muslims on screen, they are consistently portrayed in a negative light, especially recently with Islamophobia on the rise, Dayrit said. “This film is the chance to see themselves on the big screen and their heritage presented in a positive light.”
Having a diverse, predominantly Muslim team create the film made it representative, Dayrit noted. “Kids from different backgrounds will see it. We want the characters to be very relatable.”
“Time Hoppers: The Silk Road” portrays four Muslim children as heroes and highlights Muslim scholars and scientists from Islam’s Golden Age, from the seventh to the 13th centuries, including Al-Khwarizmi, the father of algebra; Ibn Al-Haytham, the pioneer of optics; astronomer Maryam Al-Astrolabi, and Mansa Musa, patron of science, education, and the arts. The characters are voiced by prominent Muslim Americans including scholars Omar Suleiman and Dalia Mogahed, and musician and actor Omar Regan. Set in 2050, the children stumble on the ability to time travel and embark on a mission to save the great men and women who built the foundations of modern science.
“‘Time Hoppers’ is not just for Muslims; it’s for everyone,” Dayrit said. “We want this movie to be a celebration of who we are and of our Muslim and Arab contributions to the world. These people were heroes.”
Dayrit credits Muslim families for the film’s remarkable success. “The Muslim community is showing mainstream media our stories matter,” she said. “Muslims are posting on social media that this is the representation we’ve been waiting for. We need more films that showcase our community in positive ways.”
Sandra Whitehead, an author, educator, and journalist in Milwaukee, is the lead reporter for the Wisconsin Muslim Journal.
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