Half Mideast, Half Midwest, and a Dash of LA

One of the things that I like about my 29 years of breathing on this globe is that I did half my breathing in Jordan, and the other half in the US. Actually, over 16 years in the US now. And with this mixed bag of experiences comes my sense of longing and not longing to any one specific place. Amman, Columbus, and LA each contribute something different to who I am.

As a filmmaker, the more things I can relate to, the better I can express a truth to a character or situation.

I had my chilhood in Amman: busy city, innocent culture, Arabic upbringing. I loved the noise of the cars in the streets, the corn guy after school, or the eskimo orange-flavored ice-cream in the summer. The one you bought for 5 piasters from the neighborhood supermarket owned by Abu fill-in-the-gap. Riding my bicycle, showing off soccer moves in front of girls at school, or even playing catch during recess. Remember those innocent years?

My teenage years were spent in a quiet Ohio suburb of Columbus called Gahanna. Lots of green: trees, grass, bushes, shrubs, leafs, woods...you get the picture. Hot humid Summers, golden reddish Autumns, snow covered Winters, and beautiful rosey Springs. High school was the most isolated experience of my life. I withdrew to my fortress of solitude (my room) and started writing, storyboarding, and experimenting with my camera. My college years were alright. I put the movie dreams aside after doing theatre for a year and became a business guy. My corporate America experience was amazing, but it ran out of steam and turned into burn-out after four years of working my ass off some 12 hours a day.

And now I'm in LA where people come from different cities around the US and the world, all to follow a dream.

I plan to draw on all my varied experiences and observations to make the best movies I can make.