Lorena’s Epiphany

“Welcome to Amreeka! You speekz inglizeh? No broblem!” .. I can go on and on with Arab English accents! My particular favorite is how most Arabs cannot pronounce Massachusetts. Try it.

Amreeka, the movie, finally made its way to Lebanon (as part of the Beirut International Film Festival). I’d been anticipating it for a while after hearing all the positive reviews from my friends in Boston. The director, Cherien Dabis, was also in attendance to answer questions at the end. She did a magnificent job with this film, especially it being her first feature film.

The heart-warming story of a single Palestinian woman who moves to Illinois with her son is instantly relate-able. Maybe because I’ve moved around so many times in my life and consider myself in between Arab and American. I was very curious to see how the Lebanese audience would react to the story. The 10-minute applause at the end spoke for itself.

Inspired by Cherien’s own family experiences, the story draws on prejudices her family encountered as Arabs during the post-9/11 period. The cast was perfectly selected, and I instantly fell in love with Mona’s persona. She could be any Arab woman.. my aunt.. my neighbor.

Amreeka will be hitting Lebanese theaters in a week. Check out a preview below: