“If you’re with the NYPD or you’re with the FBI: Welcome, sincerely,” the imam, who leads everyone in prayer, says in a calming voice. Men greet each other as they remove their shoes. The tension between Naz and Maalik pauses for a moment when they attend salah, a daily prayer service, at a Bed-Stuy mosque. In fact, surveillance is a prominent theme throughout the film-the feeling confronts viewers within the first 10 minutes. Naz & Maalik plays with that tension throughout the story, adding the feeling that they’re always being watched-by family, community, and a suspicious FBI agent who wants to “get to know the neighborhood.” The two black, closeted, Muslim teenagers make their way through Brooklyn, while reconciling their feelings as best friends and lovers with their religion, which considers homosexuality a sin.
The film tells the story of a day in the life of its two titular protagonists, Naz and Maalik, the day after they have sex with each other for the first time.
But the feature-film debut of director Jay Dockendorf is anything but conventional. On the surface, Naz & Maalik has the conventional characteristics of low-budget, independent cinema: The cast is small, it's dialogue-heavy, and the streets of Brooklyn serve as the setting.
