A trailer has premiered for Drafthouse Films’ romantic comedy Amira & Sam, from first-time writer/director Sean Mullin. The movie stars Martin Starr, whose face should be familiar to audiences from his television work in Freaks and Geeks, Party Down, and most currently Silicon Valley. Opposite Starr is relative newcomer Dina Shihabi (David).
Amira & Sam tells the story of an army veteran, Sam, back in New York City and finding it hard to adapt to civilian life after an extended tour away. Through Sam’s Iraqi translator, he meets Amira, a fiercely passionate woman who’s wary of Sam because of his background as a soldier. Sam, however, becomes Amira’s unlikely ally once she runs into immigration troubles, and from there the two develop a deep relationship and understanding.
The trailer showcases the two leads’ growing and charming relationship founded on the poignant and relevant issues of immigration and Islamophobia, but it also remains very self-aware of its rom-com genre label, endearingly alluding to other staples of the genre such as 27 Dresses, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and Sweet Home Alabama.
Amira & Sam also stars Paul Wesley (Before I Disappear, TV’s The Vampire Diaries) and Laith Nakli (The Visitor).
The film was recently awarded the Jury & Audience Awards at the Napa Valley Film Festival and will be out in theaters and VOD on January 30, 2015.
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