WEST BANK BROOKLYN American Directions

With wit, charm and irreverence, writer/director/producer/actor Ghazi Albuliwi’s WEST BANK BROOKLYN contrasts the different interpretations of God and religion for three young Muslim friends living in Brooklyn where Jewish, Muslim and Catholics live side-by-side.

Albuliwi plays a chameleon-like realist who adopts a Puerto Rican name and look to avoid the stigma of being named Sadam. Ali (Charles Daniel Sandoval) the central character, sees his elder brother Mustafa( Bronson Picket) reject the traditions of their faith, leaving their father brokenhearted. Ali, meanwhile, bravely resists peer pressure to expand his own world. And Mohammed (Anil Kumar), whose uncle is killed in Palestine, turns to the Muslim faith but interprets it in anger and prejudice.

Painting a human face on faith, the film explores the conflict of being a young man with ties to another culture, while attempting to forge his own identity as a young American.