THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR ONE ARAB FAMILY UNCOVERS UNPARELLED DISCRIMINATION
AMERICAN EAST
Award-Winning Film Arrives On DVD January 20
From MGM Home Entertainment
“This movie is a great interpretation of everyday life for Arab-Americans living in America.”
- Beirut Times
“…the film is in the same strain as Spike Lee's ‘Do the Right Thing.’”
- The Arab American News
LOS ANGELES, CA – A Middle Eastern man must overcome societal pressures and prejudices to find out what truly matters most in American East, debuting on DVD January 20 from MGM Home Entertainment. Starring actor and producer Sayed Badreya (Iron Man, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, W), Golden Globe®* winner Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”), Sarah Shahi (“The L Word”), Constance Zimmer (“Entourage”) and Palestinian actor Kais Nashif (The Nativity Story), American East follows a widowed immigrant and devote family man who faces societal pressures and discrimination in a post-9/11 world. Owner of Habibe’s Café, a popular Middle Eastern hangout in Los Angeles, Mustafa (Sayed) decides to take on a new venture and open a restaurant with Jewish partner Sam (Shalhoub). Unfortunately, his plan leads to resistance from his café regulars and the local Arab and Jewish communities. Omar (Nashif), an aspiring actor and frequent patron of the café, finds himself constantly typecast in terrorist roles. Finally catching a break, he lands a lead role; however, misunderstandings and Hollywood prejudices conspire against him causing Omar to make a drastic violent decision that affects the lives of Mustafa and the tight-knit Middle Eastern community. American East will be available on a DVD single layer disc in widescreen format for the suggested retail price of $26.98 US / 37.98 Canada. Pre-book is December 24.
* 2003: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (“Monk”)
Synopsis:
AmericanEast is a timely, poignant drama about Arab-Americans living in post-9/11 Los Angeles. 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.
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American East
DVD Price: $26.98 U.S. / 37.98 Canada
Street Date: January 20, 2009
Prebook Date: December 24, 2008
Running Time: 112 mins.
Catalog Number: M112286
MPAA: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Closed Captioned YES
AMERICAN EAST
Award-Winning Film Arrives On DVD January 20
From MGM Home Entertainment
“This movie is a great interpretation of everyday life for Arab-Americans living in America.”
- Beirut Times
“…the film is in the same strain as Spike Lee's ‘Do the Right Thing.’”
- The Arab American News
LOS ANGELES, CA – A Middle Eastern man must overcome societal pressures and prejudices to find out what truly matters most in American East, debuting on DVD January 20 from MGM Home Entertainment. Starring actor and producer Sayed Badreya (Iron Man, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, W), Golden Globe®* winner Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”), Sarah Shahi (“The L Word”), Constance Zimmer (“Entourage”) and Palestinian actor Kais Nashif (The Nativity Story), American East follows a widowed immigrant and devote family man who faces societal pressures and discrimination in a post-9/11 world. Owner of Habibe’s Café, a popular Middle Eastern hangout in Los Angeles, Mustafa (Sayed) decides to take on a new venture and open a restaurant with Jewish partner Sam (Shalhoub). Unfortunately, his plan leads to resistance from his café regulars and the local Arab and Jewish communities. Omar (Nashif), an aspiring actor and frequent patron of the café, finds himself constantly typecast in terrorist roles. Finally catching a break, he lands a lead role; however, misunderstandings and Hollywood prejudices conspire against him causing Omar to make a drastic violent decision that affects the lives of Mustafa and the tight-knit Middle Eastern community. American East will be available on a DVD single layer disc in widescreen format for the suggested retail price of $26.98 US / 37.98 Canada. Pre-book is December 24.
* 2003: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (“Monk”)
Synopsis:
AmericanEast is a timely, poignant drama about Arab-Americans living in post-9/11 Los Angeles. 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.
# # #
American East
DVD Price: $26.98 U.S. / 37.98 Canada
Street Date: January 20, 2009
Prebook Date: December 24, 2008
Running Time: 112 mins.
Catalog Number: M112286
MPAA: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Closed Captioned YES
