"I'm so hungry" is a thought on the minds of most observant Muslims during Ramadan, the month of fasting, and it's also the title of a too-real parody video directed by Heidi Naguib, a documentary filmmaker and visual artist working in Washington D.C.
The video takes viewers through the daily hunger struggle, which inevitably ends with a delicious iftar feast.
Naguib told The Huffington Post, "I directed, filmed, and edited this video. As a Muslim American filmmaker, I strive to bring Muslim Americans, and their experiences, into the main stream media, as a way to shatter stereotypes. Using comedy and storytelling is an excellent way to shatter cultural and religious barriers and cast a positive light on Muslim Americans, and this video has done just that."
This chorus pretty much sums it up:
I'm so hungry
You already know
I'm in the buffet
Till I can't eat no more
In some respects, being hungry during Ramadan is kind of the point. Muslims fast to increase their self-discipline and to remind themselves of the hunger felt by poor and needy people every day.
Naguib's video is a light-hearted take on the Muslim holiday, saying in the caption, "In celebration of the month of Ramadan, we thought that this video would be a fun way to share some of our experiences, as Muslims, during this holy month of fasting. That being said, this is a parody, and NONE of the jokes should be taken seriously."
The other creators of the video, Yazzy, Netti, and Paul, (who preferred to only be mentioned by their first names) are respectively, a recent graduate of a Masters in Public Health, a law school graduate, and a current MPH student.
The video is a way to share the global Ramadan experience. Naguib told The Huffington Post, "Muslims and non-Muslims alike have contacted me telling me that they loved this video, and have been sharing it on their personal pages! The reaction has been absolutely phenomenal and we are all so excited!"
Warning: this video contains many images of iftar buffets and a lot of tasty-looking Arabic food. You might want to wait until after iftar to watch it, if you're fasting.