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When Muhammad Bilal is not operating as a school principal at New Dawn Charter High School in Queens, he can be seen working as a mental health advocate and filmmaker.
At his school, Bilal, 46, works with under-credited students aged 16-21, many of whom are at risk. He is intentional about providing mental health resources for Black men and boys. One of the ways he does it is through his film company, Bilal Entertainment
“We want to shift the way Black men and Black boys view mental health,” Bilal said. “We’re confronting the stigma with information and really looking at it and how it impacts people.”
Muhammad Bilal is a writer, director, producer, and educator. He is the creator of the short film Perdido, which follows a Black man, Amir, on his journey to mental wellness and self-discovery.
We sat down with Muhammad ahead of Bilal Entertainment’s “Confronting The Stigma: A Mental Health Event to Help Black and Brown Men Heal” which will feature a private screening of Perdido followed by a panel with Dr. Yusef Salaam (Member of New York City Council & The Exonerated Five), Chris V. Rey, J.D. (International President of Phi Beta Sigma, Fraternity, Inc.), and Arron Muller, LCSW on February 8, 2025 at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.
Film Director and Writer Muhammad Bilal joined WTW LIVE hosts Bree Specific and Jayy Marie, along with actress and Chicago's own Hannaha Hall to discuss his film Perdido, an original about the mental health of Black men.
“I find that when I was a kid I wasn’t validated a lot, and I wanted that. I used to internalize that… So I always felt like not having that in my formative years - that validation, that love, that security - it affects me now. So for me, going through therapy and going all the way back… those formative years are really important. The picture, the self-perception, you have as a kid, a lot of that stuff stays with you.” - Muhammad Bilal
Ever Forward Club’s Ashanti Branch is joined by Muhammad Bilal. Muhammad is an African American filmmaker, actor, and educational consultant from the South Side of Chicago. His film, The Blue Cave, won 22 awards and was accepted into 42 film festivals worldwide in 2021, and it is now airing on Short & Fresh on REVOLT TV. Now in post-production on a new film, Perdido, Muhammad has always demonstrated a high level of compassion and empathy for individuals in their formative years. We are so lucky to have Muhammad on our side, fighting for a kinder, more understanding world through his many talents.
This episode was so inspiring. Muhammad Bilal's award winning film, The Blue Cave is a story of a troubled African American boy with an imagination. An African Kingdom. A Muslim Mom. A dark Beast. A Chicago gang. An Abusive stepfather.
As a boy struggles to escape brutal violence from the stepfather and local gang, he discovers a magical blue cave. Muhammad survived and is definitely living on purpose.
Muhammad is highly educated with multiple degrees including: Masters in Education x2, Master in Fine Arts in Film Production. Educator, Administrator , Actor & Film Producer founder and creative director of his own independent film production company, Bilal World Entertainment.
Muhammad Bilal always wanted to be a filmmaker. In his most recent film, The Blue Cave, Ali, a Black teenager from the southside of Chicago, is driven by that same fuel. Dreams are worth fighting for, and for Ali, a character based on Muhammad’s own story, that fight consists of challenge after challenge, met with gritty determination.
The short film runs at just 30 minutes in length, and so every detail, from the lighting to the dialogue, right down to each character’s movement, is packed full of symbolism and meaningful narrative.
The Blue Cave opens in a scene of rage. We see Ali strangled by his stepfather, Sherman. The camera shakes, and Ali’s mother and sister plead with Sherman to stop. We don’t yet know who these characters are, but the viewer is immediately immersed in the trauma of the film through jarring action.