Amreeka (2009)

Director:

Cherien Dabis

Writer (WGA):

Cherien Dabis (written by)

Release Date:

17 June 2009 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Life's best adventures are journeys of the heart.

Plot:

A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Illinois.

Plot Keywords:

School | Illinois | Bank | White Castle | Bethlehem

Awards:

6 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Nisreen Faour	...	Muna Farah
Melkar Muallem	...	Fadi
Alia Shawkat	...	Salma Halaby
Hiam Abbass	...	Raghda Halaby
Yussuf Abu-Warda	...	Nabeel Halaby
Joseph Ziegler	...	Stan Novatski
Amer Hlehel	...	Samer
Selena Haddad	...	Lamis Halaby
Jenna Kawar	...	Rana Halaby
Suheila Muallem	...	Jamie
Brodie Sanderson	...	Matt
Andrew Sannie	...	James
Daniel Boiteau	...	Mike
Jeff Button	...	Jason
Miriam Smith	...	Bank Employee
Mike O'Brien	...	Bank Manager #1
Aaron Hughes	...	Police Officer #1
Craig Matthews	...	Police officer #2 (as Craig Matthews Barkhman)
Adham Mujama	...	Young Israeli Soldier #1
Abed Abded El Latif	...	Young Israeli Soldier #2
Tom Anniko	...	Mr. Jones
Sayan S.	...	Arab Bank Teller
Yacoub Ismail	...	Belligerent Customer
Baha Salameh	...	Cousin #1
Iman Aoun	...	Muna's sister #1
Rafda Ghazala	...	Muna's sister #2
Abdel Fatah Abu Brovri	...	Ex-husband
Hussein Makhleh	...	Angry Driver
Manal Hlaneh	...	Young Wife
Will Woytowich	...	US Airport Customs Official
Kristen Sawatzky	...	Female Airport Official
Ernie Pitts	...	Male Airport Officer
Magally Zelaya	...	Grocery Store Cashier
Bradley Sawatzky	...	Parkton Bank Manager
Adriana O'Neil	...	Female Bank Manager
Valerie Williams	...	White Castle Customer
Arne MacPherson	...	Mike's Dad
Jordan Power	...	Preppy Kid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vanessa Mayberry	...	Sammy
Glen Thompson	...	Nelson

Directed by
Cherien Dabis

Writing credits (WGA)
Cherien Dabis		(written by)

Produced by
Zain Al-Sabah	....	co-producer
Paul Barkin	....	producer
Cherien Dabis	....	executive producer
Elizabeth Jarvis	....	co-producer
Greg Keever	....	executive producer
George Khleifi	....	line producer: Palestine
Christina Piovesan	....	producer
Sami Said	....	assistant production supervisor
Alicia Sams	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kareem Roustom		(music)

Cinematography by
Tobias Datum		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Keith Reamer

Production Design by
Aidan Leroux

Art Direction by
Laura Souter

Set Decoration by
Scott Rossell

Costume Design by
Patricia J. Henderson

Production Management
Marvin Lawrence	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Antoniuk	....	first assistant director
Richard Duffy	....	second assistant director
Markian Saray	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Gary Barringer	....	graphic artist
Gary Barringer	....	set designer
Crystal Biloski	....	assistant property master
David Macvicar	....	property master
Reed Makayev	....	art department assistant

Sound Department
Yosi Appelbaum	....	adr recordist
Brock Capell	....	production sound mixer
Elius Caruso	....	sound re-recording mixer
Romain Drouillon	....	french dubbing mixer
Paul Germann	....	sound effects editor
Barry Gilmore	....	dialogue editor
Rudy Michael	....	foley mixer
Dallas Pomedli	....	boom operator
Issa J. Qumsyah	....	sound
Scott Shepherd	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marilee Yorston	....	foley artist

Stunts
Robert Borges	....	stunt double
Sean Skene	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Mathieu Cauville	....	second assistant camera
John Clarke	....	gaffer
Vanessa Ireson	....	first assistant camera
Michael Kelly	....	lighting technician
Reil Munro	....	dolly grip
Rebecca Sandulak	....	still photographer
Mohanad Yaqubi	....	electrician: second unit
Mario Zugair	....	gaffer: second unit

Casting Department
Salim Abu Jabal	....	casting department
Jim Heber	....	casting
Sara Kay	....	casting
Patricia Kress	....	extras casting assistant
Jenny Lewis	....	casting
Joey Ritche	....	casting associate
Lori Stefaniuk	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Heather Neale	....	truck costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Frank Biasi	....	digital intermediate editor
Louis Casado	....	film timer
Jim Fleming	....	digital intermediate colorist
Christopher Haufe	....	colorist (as Chris Haufe)
James Nichols Jr.	....	first assistant editor
Misako Shimizu	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Doug Bernheim	....	music supervisor
Justin Prymowicz	....	score recordist
John Weston	....	score recordist
Malik Williams	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Rhia Alcantara	....	assistant production coordinator
Neal Baksh	....	assistant location manager
Darryl S. Bird	....	locations production assistant
Jared Damond Brown	....	title designer
Paul Courchaine	....	first assistant accountant
Ken Dhaliwal	....	production counsel
Jim Dobson	....	publicist
Larissa Giroux	....	production executive for Alcina Pictures
Indira Guha	....	legal consultant
Cherilyn Hawrysh	....	business affairs associate
Michelle Angela King	....	office production assistant
Tanya Mazur	....	script supervisor
Nadia Saah	....	publicity and marketing consultant
RoseAnna Schick	....	unit publicist
Jayson Schimnowski	....	photo assistant
Andrew Schulz	....	location production assistant
Reem Shilleh	....	continuity
Sheila Woodley	....	head accountant
Amanda Wowryk	....	set production assistant

Thanks
Karim Ahmad	....	special thanks
Louise O'Brien-Moran	....	thanks
Nadia Saah	....	thanks

Production Companies

• First Generation Films
• Alcina Pictures
• Buffalo Gal Pictures
• Levantine Entertainment (in association with)
• Eagle Vision Media Group
• Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ
• Manitoba Film & Music
• Maximum Film International
• National Geographic Entertainment
• R.A. Abdoo & Co.
• Rotana Studios (in association with)
• Showtime Arabia
• Violet Jabara Foundation

Distributors

• Virgil Films & Entertainment (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Cinéart (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• E1 Films Canada (2009) (Canada) (theatrical)
• IFA (2010) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cinemax (2010) (Hungary) (TV)
• Cinéart (2009) (Belgium) (all media)
• Dogwoof Pictures (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Europa Filmes (2010) (Brazil) (all media)
• Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Maximum Films (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Memento Films (2009) (France) (all media)
• National Geographic Entertainment (2009) (USA) (all media)
• National Geographic International (2009) (USA) (all media)
• National Geographic (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Sundance (2010) (USA) (TV)
• Twin Pics (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• BoomGen Studios  publicity and marketing consulting
• Film Finances Canada  completion guarantor
• Idioms Film  local production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief drug use involving teens, and some language

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45380) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Netherlands:9 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Ramallah, Palestine

Company:

First Generation Films

Trivia:

There were no White Castles in Winnepeg, where it was filmed, so the White Castle company had the supplies for one trucked there. It never sold food, but people kept trying to order from it.

Home Is Where The Heart Is (no matter where you are)

Back in the late 1980's early 1990's(especially during Operation Desert Scam),there was a plague of anti Arab sentiment that enveloped the United States for a good part of the decade. Things did not fare any better in the wake of September 11th,2001,and only managed to get worse with George W.Bush attacking Iraq. Hollywood,predictably got on that vile band wagon & produced some pretty vile films,depicting all Arab & Arab/Americans as ruthless terrorists. Despite the fact that most of these attitudes still exist,Canada produced a wonderful film about a Palestinian woman & her son coming to America for a better life. This film is 'Amreeka' (the Arabic word for America). Cherien Dabis writes & directs,from her own original screenplay,a tale of finding home. Muna Farah is a single mother,dealing with the daily grind of living in occupied Palestine (spot checks at the border are a regular way of life,as well as the wall separating the Gaza strip from Isreal,where motorists have to contend with driving out of their way, just to get to work,etc.). With the money she has been saving for some time,Muna & her teen-aged son,Fadi,make it to America,where they live with her sister,Raghda & her family. Sounds like an idyllic picture,doesn't it? Guess again. Muna & Fadi have to deal with the growing racism against Arabs. Does she manage to rise above it all & make America her home? That's for you to find out. Nisreen Faour shines as Muna,a woman who has been kicked around for far too long. Melkar Muallem earns kudos as her son,Fadi. Hiam Abbass is her sister, Raghda (a winning performance). The rest of the cast turns in fine performances,as well. This is quality film making that deserves to be experienced,even if you're not Arab. Spoken in Arabic with English subtitles,and English. Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some salty language,some drug related material & some mild violence