Visit Films has acquired worldwide rights to Eyad Zahra’s Islamic punk film The Taqwacores ahead of its world premiere at Sundance.

The film is based on Michael Muhammad Knight’s novel of the same name about a Pakistani-American engineering student in New York state whose housemates introduce him to the Taqwacores, a West Coast punk scene.

Over time the house evolves from mosque by day to vibrant party scene by night. Bobby Naderi, Noureen DeWulf, Dominic Rains and Rasika Mathur are among the cast.

“The Taqwacaores can become a movement defining film, as the book has, that shows that there are many voices in the Muslim-US Diaspora, including an incredibly edgy punk sub-culture,” Visit co-founder Ryan Kampe said.

“Sundance is the perfect venue to launch the film to buyers as it will expose Zahra and Knight’s brilliant character to a national platform.”

The Taqwacores will receive its market premiere at the EFM in Berlin next month.