Tag Archives: cherien dabis

When Cherien Dabis was a teen growing up in small town Ohio, the First Gulf War broke out. Her family began getting death threats and her Palestinian father, a doctor, lost patients. These experiences came to inspire the filmmaker to write and direct the award-winning “Amreeka,” a movie that tells the story of Muna, a single mother who leaves her life in the West Bank and moves to Illinois with her teenage son, Fadi. While their move to the United States is filled with obstacles, the movie isn’t a total downer. In fact, it’s filled with amazing family moments that are often sweet and funny, showing a different side of the conflict. Cherien spoke to The Frisky about how similar life experiences drove her to become a filmmaker, what it was like to make a film in Palestine, and which movies we should add to our Netflix queue. Keep reading »