Hakeem Khaaliq

Hakeem Khaaliq is an award winning Film Director, Television Producer, Cinematographer and Visual Anthropologist. Born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, CA. Hakeem’s father was a Stuntman in Hollywood with work featured in the controversial film The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Khaaliq is also the great nephew to prominent photographer Addison N. Scurlock. 

Ebony Magazine featured Hakeem for his award winning visual ethnographic project “Invisible Mexico”, which is the culmination of 13 years of research filming Afro Mexicano and indigenous cultures in Central America. Along with his longtime partner Queen Muhammad Ali he is also the recipient of The Mutianyu Artist Fellowship in Beijing China, Artist Research and Development Grant recipient, Tiapapata Artist residency, and his work has been featured on MTV, VH1, Showtime, NBC, Lions Gate Films, PBS, and Univision Television Network. 

Hakeem Khaaliq recently directed and produced the award winning and soon to be released feature documentary “Comin’ Up Short” which is the true story of Shorty (Jerome Muhammad) a legendary member of “Da Lench Mob,” one of the most controversial platinum and gold rap recording groups of all time produced and led by Ice Cube. 

Prior to Comin’ up Short, Hakeem directed and produced the award winning documentary #Bars4Justice, which won Best Short Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) and was screened twice at the Documentary Fortnight: MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media in New York. #Bars4Justice has been used as a teaching tool in universities to address the modern civil rights movement taking place across America. The film has been screened internationally in Beijing China, Glasgow Scotland, Bogota Colombia, Tirana Albania, and Apia Samoa.

Hakeem has been invited to speak, teach and present at the United Nations, Arizona State University, California State University, Wayne State University (Allied Media Conference), NAACP, University of Arizona, TEDx, Global Education Center, MoMA, Artplace America Summit, The New School, The Karen Work Seleznow Gallery, and Sundance among others.

Honoree
2022 Rauschenberg (RMEG)

Selected Panelist
2022 Sundance Film Festival

Selected Speaker
2022 Marquette University

Selected Artist
2018 Arizona Community Foundation
(The Karen Work Seleznow Gallery)

Co-Winner
ArtPlace America’s 2017 NCPF
(Manuia Samoa)
Tutila, American Samoa

Winner
2017 & 2020 Artist Research and Development Grants recipient
Phoenix, AZ

Winner
Resident Artist at Mutianyu Fellowship
(Film/Multimedia)
(Sep 2016)
Beijing, China

Winner
Tiapapata Art Centre
Artist in Resident (June 2017)
Apia, Western Samoa

Winner
Official Selection 24th Pan African Film Festival
(#Bars4Justice)
Los Angeles, CA

Selected guest speaker
MoMA’s 2017 Doc fortnight International film festival
New York, NY

Winner
ISF Film Grant / Scholarship Recipient
(Nov 2018 & 2021)
(Documentary)
San Francisco, CA

TEDx Speaker
Visual Anthropology Activism