AmericanEast

Directed by: Hesham Issawi

United States / 2007 / 111 mins / 35 mm / English

Co-Presented with NetIP-NY

Director Hesham Issawi & Actor Tony Shalhoub in Attendance. NYC Premiere

“AmericanEast” is a timely, poignant drama about Arab-Americans living in post-9/11 Los Angeles. Featuring Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Shalhoub, Sayed Badreya (Three Kings, The Insider, and Independence Day) and Kais Nashif (of Paradise Now fame), the film demonstrates, with both humor and raw emotion, how friendships are tested amongst diverse patrons of a Middle Eastern restaurant in Los Angeles when the owner decides to partner with a Jewish businessman. The story examines long-held misunderstandings about Arabic and Islamic culture, and puts a human face on a segment of the U.S. population whom most Americans know nothing about, but who today are of particular interest to them, either from curiosity or suspicion. The story highlights the pressures under which many Arab-Americans now live by focusing on the points-of-view of three main characters.

Director Hesham Issawi & Actor Tony Shalhoub in Attendance. NYC Premiere