A teenager in Arkansas searches for identity in the headscarf and a motorcycle in the aftermath of her father's imprisonment. Set in 2006, the film explores the results of Arab and Muslim Americans being increasingly detained for "guilt by association". The film links the civil rights struggle of Arab/Muslim Americans with that of African Americans through Marjoun's attendance of Central High School. It weaves her story into the lineage of the Little Rock Nine. This film is set also at Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi. This Zen Buddhist monastery has been established in the tradition of the friendship of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, bringing together the themes of civil rights movements and interfaith practice. This is an expansion of the short film by the same title, that was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival.
Susan Youssef is the writer/director of two dramatic features, a documentary, and seven shorts that have been official selections of film festivals such as Venice, Toronto International, and Sundance, as well as have been programmed in museums including Tate Modern, New Museum, and Museum of Modern Art - New York. Her work has won international recognition including the FIPRESCI Prize and NETPAC Award. She is a Fulbright Fellow, Princess Grace Award Winner, Yale University Poynter Fellow in Media and Journalism, and 21st Century Fox Director Fellow. Susan has been a Guest Speaker at Harvard, Princeton, and many other institutions around the world. Prior to filmmaking, she was a schoolteacher and journalist in Beirut. She will be a Visiting Professor in Film Studies at Wesleyan University in the Fall and is in development for her third feature.
