Filmmakers and Producers

Barni Axmed Qaasim is a documentary filmmaker and multimedia artist. Her work ranges from documentary film to music videos to video and photo journalism. She is dedicated to capturing images and sounds that shine a light on the efficacy and strength of communities that are ignored or misrepresented by mainstream media. Barni’s work constructs vibrant environments and likes to juxtapose diverse images to build meaning.

Barni with communities to document movements for social justice, to train members to use media tools, and to create media strategies to win campaigns. Her work is rooted in the philosophy that those most impacted by injustice are capable, strong and the most qualified to tell their own stories. She focuses on capturing images and sounds that evoke emotion and build connections between people, because art can bring people together in a way that politics cannot.

Barni Filmography:

The Gathering*
Barni Axmed Qaasim & Sara McPherson
2018, 1h 30min., Color, USA
Set in the heart of the African American community in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, The Gathering shows the grit and compassion of those helping fellow drug addicts on the road to recovery.
*Currently in production

Into the Current
Jeanne Marie Hallacy
Producer: Khin Maung Win & Santhar Aung
Assistant Director: Barni Axmed Qaasim
2012, 1h 23min., Color, USA/Thailand/Mynamar
Into the Current tells the story of Burma's unsung heroes -its prisoners of conscience -and the price they pay for speaking truth to power in a military dictatorship.

Catching Babies: Celebrating the Power of Birth, Mothers and Midwives
Barni A. Qaasim
Producer: Jennifer Lucero
2011, 60 min., Color, US/Mexico
What if we could change the world by changing the way babies are born? Shot in El Paso, Texas, CATCHING BABIES tells the stories of mothers and midwives on the journey to bring life into the world.

Under Arpaio
J.M. Aragón
Producers: Mary Charlotte Thurtle, Sean Fowlkes
Associate Producer: Barni Axmed Qaasim
2011, 72 min., Color, USA
A documentary highlighting the community struggle and fight against the human rights abuses and racist law enforcement of Sheriif Joe Arpaio in Arizona.