Crows Are White Apr 2026

: The documentary premiered at SXSW 2022 and has been praised by outlets like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter for its irreverent humor and emotional honesty. Crows are White | Screen Slate

: The film juxtaposes the austere, millennia-old traditions of the monastery with the modern, quirky habits of Ryushin and Nadeem’s own "fantastic" lying. Crows Are White

: A monk must believe their master even if told that a black crow is white. : The documentary premiered at SXSW 2022 and

The documentary follows Nadeem, a Pakistani-American filmmaker raised in a devout Muslim household, who has spent years hiding his marriage to a non-Muslim woman from his parents. Seeking guidance and a way to reconcile his double life, he travels to a secluded Tendai Buddhist monastery on Mount Hiei in Japan. This leads him to an unlikely friendship with

While he initially intends to document the "marathon monks" and their extreme physical rituals for enlightenment, Nadeem is expelled from the monastery after his phone accidentally goes off during a sacred ceremony. This leads him to an unlikely friendship with , a low-ranking, misfit monk who enjoys heavy metal music, ice cream, and gadgets . The Meaning Behind the Title