Film audiences can move past stereotypical portrayals of Arabs: Heidi Saman

Heidi Saman is making a film. It’s called Namour and it focuses on an Arab-American valet and his post-college malaise. But when searching for funding, Saman got rejected over and over again.

The message, she said, was clear: producers don’t believe American audiences are ready for an Arab-American main character who isn’t getting married or “planning to blow something up,” as Saman puts it in this video.

Saman, a producer at WHYY‘s Fresh Air, doesn’t agree. So she’s producing the film independently and is looking to raise $25,000 on Kickstarter.

Support Namour by Dec. 3 here.

“Let’s send the message that there is an audience for well-told, unique stories that feature people of color in dynamic and non-stereotypical roles,” she wrote on her Kickstarter page.