Nabil Zouheir Abou-Harb ( ar, نبيل أبو حرب; born September 13, 1984) is an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. He is also co-founder of "Five on Fifty Films" and has directed and produced a number of commercials.

Early life and education

Abou-Harb was born in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, United States, to Zouheir Abou-Harb and Sally Cardinali Abou-Harb in 1984. Nabil was raised as a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Loganville, Georgia Loganville is a city in Walton and Gwinnett counties, Georgia, United States. The population was 10,458 at the 2010 census. Loganville is located about east of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History An early variant name w ...

. He graduated from

Loganville High School Loganville High School (LHS) is located in Walton County, Georgia, United States. Loganville is east of Atlanta and west of Athens. The school is a part of the Walton County School District. Walton County has nine elementary, three middle, a ...

in 2003. As a senior at Loganville High School, Abou-Harb wrote and directed the film ''Starwars: Rise of the Black Sun''. After earning his

CCNA CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is an information technology (IT) certification from Cisco Systems. CCNA certification is an associate-level Cisco Career certification. The Cisco exams have changed several times in response to the changin ...

, he co-founded a web design company with Nicholas Bowman, called Decaphase Productions, Inc. Although there was interest to see the film, Abou-Harb and Bowman abandoned the project as they went to college. Bowman attended

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, whereas Abou-Harb was awarded a portfolio scholarship from the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...

for his

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

fanfilm trailer. He graduated in 2007, earning his

in film/television. A short, two-minute trailer from "Star Wars: Rise of the Black Sun" debuted on Loganville High School's student-run news "WDVL" program. The trailer was also posted online.

''Arab in America''

As his senior year approached, Abou-Harb co-wrote a fifteen-page comedy

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

titled, ''Arab in America''. The film chronicles the journey of an American-born character named, "Osama Ahmed Abou-Bakr" and his plight to find a job in America's

post-9/11 The post-9/11 period is the time after the September 11 attacks, characterized by heightened suspicion of non-Americans in the United States, increased government efforts to address terrorism, and a more aggressive American foreign policy. Pol ...

atmosphere. The story highlights the hardships of

Middle Easterners The ethnic groups in the Middle East in the transcontinental region commonly known with its geopolitical term; the Middle East. The region has historically been a crossroad of different cultures and language, languages. Since the 1960s, the change ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

living in the United States. The character, "Osama", a recent college graduate, cannot get anyone to hire him so he resorts to a drastic measure: he changes his name from "Osama Ahmed Abou-Bakr" to the more appealing "Samuel Adam Baker". Instantly, he's offered a high-paying job at a prestigious company. However, concealing his true identity turns into a daunting task that unfortunately "Sam" cannot keep up and eventually comes clean. The script is loosely based on real-life events that continue to plague Abou-Harb's cousin, Nidal Abou-Harb, his father, Zouheir Abou-Harb, his brother, Osama Abou-Harb, and himself. The subject matter and humorous tone of the screenplay (co-written with Colin Ferri) attracted many students and faculty members to dedicate their expertise and time to help the ambitious project get off its feet. This also encouraged Nabil to get in touch with Nic Applegate, a

Savannah, GA Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

investor, architect, building contractor and band-manager, who agreed to fully fund the project. Applegate eventually became an equal partner in Nabil and Colin's production company, "Five on Fifty Films". The "Arab in America" short was shot over twelve days in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

and

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

with Nabil Abou-Harb directing and co-producing the film. It debuted at the 2007

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

followed by the United States premiere at the "Arabian Sights Film Festival" sponsored by The Washington D.C. International Film Festival where "Arab in America" won the

Audience Award An audience award is typically an award at a film festival (or some other type of cultural festival or similar competition) which is selected by the audience attending the festival, rather than by the festival jury or a group of critics. Examples ...

for Best Short Film.

''Arab in America'': The feature

Many talent agencies and production companies have shown interest in a

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

version of the short "Arab in America". Nabil Abou-Harb, co-writer Thomas Verrette, co-writer Colin Ferri, and Nic Applegate are currently in

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...

of the

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

version of "Arab in America". "Five on Fifty Films" has decided however to shoot the movie independently. The feature screenplay was recently completed and Five on Fifty Films is in negotiations to produce the feature.

Awards and recognition

Abou-Harb's ''Arab in America'' won the audience award for "Best Short Film" at the Arabian Sights Film Festival. The festival is sponsored by The Washington D.C. International Film Festival. It also won the Grand Prize of 2008 One Nation Many Voices Online Film Contest.''USA Today'' article: "Prize-winning videos capture lives of Muslims in USA"
/ref>

References

External links

*
Arab in America
at the official website
Filmfest DC 2007
Winner of the 2007 Short Film Audience Award. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abou-Harb, Nabil American graphic designers American Muslims American people of Palestinian descent American male screenwriters People from Marietta, Georgia People from Loganville, Georgia Living people 1984 births Savannah College of Art and Design alumni Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state) Screenwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)