Racial Profiling In Houston?

WorldFest head accused of profiling a Muslim dismisses it as a "PC tempest," claims an FBI agent backs him

The long-running WorldFest film festival — bearing a self-proclaimed mission to "promote cultural tourism" and "add to the cultural fabric of Houston" — is under fire with a weekend confrontation sparking accusations of ethnic profiling and cultural insensitivity.

As the 46th annual festival entered its closing weekend on Saturday, guests at a professional seminar at the Marriott Westchase were greeted by the an emergency alarm that interrupted WorldFest founder Hunter Todd's introductory remarks.

The class evacuated the room only to find out it was a false alarm.

"To be blunt, the Boston bombings were only five days earlier. It was very much on my mind after the manhunt on Friday."

Both Todd and festival attendee Mike Rudd, a University of Houston communications student, agree that a female University of Houston student with her face covered by a hijab veil and niqab cloth entered the room as people returned to their seats . . . But the agreement stops there.

"From the corner of my eye, I saw this individual in a beautifully colorful hijab. You couldn't see anything but her eyes," Todd tells CultureMap, adding the woman entered the room by herself. (Rudd says she was not alone, just sitting next to an empty seat.)

"What made me concerned was the big black backpack she was carrying. To be blunt, the Boston bombings were only five days earlier. It was very much on my mind after the manhunt on Friday."

Todd, a military veteran, says he called a friend in law enforcement for advice and followed a recommendation to check the woman's backpack and credentials. The person showed her Gold Pass, which the festival gives to area university students, and opened her bag to reveal several large bottles of water.

"No words were exchanged the entire time, which was about 60 seconds," Todd explains."I thanked her and told her I hoped she was enjoying the festival. I even saw her at another film screening a few hours later."

As Todd restarted his introduction, Rudd stepped up to angrily accuse him of improperly profiling the woman — who remains unnamed — due to her Muslim background. A brief scuffle ensued with Rudd claiming that Todd tried to take his phone and Todd saying that he deflected a potential punch from Rudd.

Profiled?

Later on Saturday, Rudd took to Facebook to recount his side of the story — a story he tells CultureMap can be corroborated by many other students in attendance.

"[Todd] went to a Muslim UH student and classmate of mine, and demanded to search her bag," he wrote in a post that was reprinted by the Houston Press on Monday.

"I just want people to understand that racial profiling occurred."

"She tried to show him her pass to prove she was supposed to be there, but he demanded to search every single pocket of her bag anyway," Rudd wrote. "I'd like to add he did so with a great deal of rudeness and attitude. She complied and showed him her bag, after this he walked off and didn't ask to search any of the dozens of other bags in the room."

Rudd goes on to say that Todd explained he was searching the woman “because she is a Muslim and a suspicious character.” He says that the festival founder called him an "obnoxious little bastard" and demanded that he take a seat or leave the session.

Another UH student, who wishes to remain anonymous, reached out to CultureMap on Tuesday afternoon to verify Rudd's account.

Meanwhile, Todd says he was only concerned about his festival's guests that morning and that he would have done the same with anyone carrying a large black bag. Todd says he conferred with several Houston police officers and a former FBI agent after the incident and feels he made the right decision given the situation.

As for the media attention in the wake of the confrontation? Todd calls it a "PC tempest in a teapot."

Rudd says he will continue to stand his ground on the matter. At the encouragement of UH officials, he has also filed an official complaint with the Houston Police Department.

"I just want people to understand that racial profiling occurred," he explains. "The girl in question has been very gracious and upbeat about people speaking out on this."

WorldFest Houston promotional poster with smoking movie camera

WorldFest.org

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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