Amreeka (2009)

A drama centered on the trials and tribulations of a proud Palestinian Christian immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Indiana.

Director:

Cherien Dabis

Writer:

Cherien Dabis

Stars:

Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass

9 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nisreen Faour	...	Muna Farah
Melkar Muallem	...	Fadi Farah
Hiam Abbass	...	Raghda Halaby
Alia Shawkat	...	Salma Halaby
Yussuf Abu-Warda	...	Nabeel Halaby (as Yussef Abu Warda)
Joseph Ziegler	...	Mr. Novatski
Amer Hlehel	...	Samer
Selena Haddad	...	Lamis Halaby
Jenna Kawar	...	Rana Halaby
Suheila Muallem	...	Jamileh
Brodie Sanderson	...	Matt
Andrew Sannie	...	James
Daniel Boiteau	...	Mike
Jeff Button	...	Jason (as Jeff Sutton)
Miriam Smith	...	Bank Employee

Storyline

Muna, a single mother in Ramallah, has applied for a visa to the US. When it comes, her son Fadi, an excellent student, convinces her they should go. After an incident at customs begins their exile badly, they join Muna's sister and family in Illinois. Muna needs a job: although she has two degrees and 15 years' experience in banking, she settles for work at White Castle, telling the family her job's at a nearby bank. It's spring, 2003, and the US invades Iraq. While friends come from unlikely places, Fadi meets prejudice at school. How he'll respond to it and to American youth culture and how Muna will sort things out with her family are the rest of the story. Tragedy or hope?

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Plot Keywords:

school | bank | student | white castle | single mother | 

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Taglines:

Life's best adventures are journeys of the heart.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [United States] Official distributor's page for the film. [Australia]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates Canada Kuwait Jordan

Language:

English Arabic French

Release Date:

17 June 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Amerrika

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$58,823, 6 September 2009

Gross USA:

$627,436

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,176,304

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Geographic Entertainment, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Levantine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

Interviews and luggage searches are performed by people with "Airport Security" patches on their uniforms. These jobs would be performed by Customs officers and Immigration officers.

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Soundtracks

My Pain
Written by David Hilker, John Costello, Jeffrey A. Freundlich
Performed by 'Goldie (II)
Published by Music Whirled Publishing (BMI)
Courtesy of Wild Whirled Music

User Reviews

Huzzah!

Knowing my deep interest in the subject of Palestine, a friend tipped me off to this movie. "Have you seen the trailer yet?" she asked. "It looks hilarious and beautiful, and poignant".

She wasn't wrong.

Over the last ten or twelve years, I have been gleaning as much information and experience as I can about the Palestine/Israel question. I found this film to be an excellent, genuine portrayal of not only life in occupied Palestine, but also of what life is like for those who choose to emigrate. It isn't a high-budget, high-production value film, but it is sensitively written, superbly acted, and the characters stay with you long after you leave the theater.

Not only that, but it is so heartening to be able to see a movie about Arabs that portrays them simply as people instead of terrorists, and is honest about the kind of racism they face in this country on a regular basis. Lets see more of these kinds of films, please! Mabrook to all those who worked on this gorgeous film!