Day before Thanksgiving   I am sitting at the Austin airport as I write this, about to leave for Colorado to visit my brother in Denver for Thanksgiving. While I am waiting, I’m busily trying to write posts and generate buzz about our Academy qualified film, My Heart – Ya Albi. Academy qualified. It doesn’t seem real. I remember a few years ago watching the Academy nominated films in the movie theater and thinking that my filmmaking was still a long way from the caliber of those films. Yet, here I am in the airport in 2017, only a few...

Becoming Aya in My Heart Playing Aya in My Heart – Ya Albi was a pivotal role for me. Part of the joy of being an actor is exploring the depths of another being, creating a life and making it real…hoping to do service to the story and writing. It is a joy to do this even when it is difficult. Becoming Aya was difficult. Not only because she is so far removed from me, but also because it was personal and the subject matter important. Personal Ties to My Heart I am part Syrian. Since this war has started…

I am the proud daughter of an immigrant. I am the proud daughter of a veteran. I am a product of both love and war. Not only do I carry the hopes and dreams of both my parents, but most likely, just like you, I am an American Dream.  Perhaps, we don't share the same religious or political views. I'm very much ok with that and so grateful to live in a country that allows us all to freely voice our different opinions and beliefs.Today, however, I would like to "take the liberty" to speak to you on a universal...

Dear Universe,   I want an Oscar (SO MUCH) – the elusive golden statue that appears in most filmmakers’ dreams, a symbol that validates all the blood, sweat, and tears, and one of the highest honors a filmmaker can hope to achieve. Once, this goal seemed barely obtainable, but now “My Heart – Ya Albi” is one of the 160+ Oscar qualified live action short films contending for a spot on the “Short List” for a 2018 Oscar nomination.   My Heart - Ya Albi is an Oscar qualified live action short film I am so thankful that we have...

Working with the right composer is crucial to any film. Music helps to strengthen the flow and emotional pacing in a film in combination with the visual elements. We experience the world with all of our senses and when we are able to appeal to as many of these senses in one comprehensive experience, the audience feels it. It is Cinematic Magic. If you haven't had a chance to hear it, here is a peek: YA ALBI SOUNDTRACK       One of the composers we have had the great pleasure to work with is composer, Steffen Schmidt.   Steffen...

When we (Christine Chen and I) decided to make “Ya Albi,” a film about a Syrian refugee, we knew that we may be dealing with a topic that could be political or controversial. We didn’t care about that though, because we just didn’t see it that way. We just wanted to make a good film about the human condition through the eyes of an immigrant that was relevant to today’s world without any political agenda.

When Christine first approached me with what would become Ya Albi (My Heart), I had to literally tell myself to play it cool. She probably doesn’t know this, or that I had written her name down on my wish list of directors I’d love to work with after seeing “A Bird’s Nest” two years prior. I guess I played it cool enough … thankfully!