LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL With Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir | TIFF 2019

“Everyone thinks it is just a sport, but when I play basketball, I think about nothing. It takes me out of real life.” —Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir Life Without Basketball profiles Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a young Muslim woman who broke records and barriers to become the first NCAA Division I basketball player to wear a hijab. When a controversial ban on religious headgear threatened her chances to play professionally, she was forced to re-examine her faith and identity as a Muslim American and her role as a basketball player. Life Without Basketball explores Bilqis’ journey from sports prodigy to global activist and educator. Through self-sacrifice and unrelenting determination both on and off the court, she challenged policies and broke barriers for women and girls around the world. Following the film, there will be an engaging discussion with the documentary’s subject, Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, and one of the film’s directors, Jon Mercer. Guest Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir has been playing basketball since she was four years old. Her goal to play professionally ended due to a ruling from the International Basketball Federation that prohibited headgear wider than five inches — meaning she could not wear her hijab on the court. She chose her faith over basketball and started working with other advocates to overturn the ban, which was lifted in 2017. Abdul-Qaadir has a degree in exercise science from the University of Memphis. She currently works at the London Islamic School in London, Ontario, where she and her husband run a basketball program and host youth camps. Guest Jon Mercer Jon Mercer is a director and editor. His films have screened internationally at festivals and can also be seen on PBS. The documentary short Calling My Children (09), which Mercer edited, won several awards, including a CINE Golden Eagle Award. Life Without Basketball (18) is his feature-length directorial debut.