This Temporal World is a film about Khalil Abu-Rayyan, a Muslim-American man living in Michigan. Lonely and depressed after graduating from high school, Khalil fell into a rabbit hole of online extremism. He thought he had found a way out of his depression when he entered into an online relationship, but it was ultimately just the beginning of his problems.

This film came about after I was commissioned to make a short documentary by the Gravel Institute, a media non-profit. After searching for an ideal topic for a few weeks David Oks, the films’ producer, shared Khalil’s story with me. Beyond the unbelievable details surrounding his story, Khalil’s openness and honesty in his TikTok videos made it clear to me that we could make something important and unique with him.

The film was shot over the course of two days in late 2021.