2008 Film Contest Grand Prize Winner: Arab in America
"Arab in America" chronicles the journey of an American-born character named, "Osama Ahmed Abou-Bakr" and his plight to find a job in America's post-9/11 atmosphere. The story highlights the hardships of Middle Easterners and Muslims living in the United States of America.
The character, "Osama", a recent college graduate, cannot get anyone to hire him so he resorts to a drastic measure: he changes his name from "Osama Ahmed Abou-Bakr" to the more appealing "Samuel Adam Baker". Instantly, he's offered a high-paying job at a prestigious company. However, concealing his true identity turns into a daunting task that unfortunately "Sam" cannot keep up and eventually comes clean. The script is loosely based on real-life events that continue to plague Nabil's cousin, Nidal Abo-Hareb, his father, Zouheir Abouharb, his brother, Osama AbouHarb, and himself.
