Today ARRAY announces the film collective’s 15th film acquisition, Egyptian-American filmmaker Heidi Saman’s feature film directorial debut, “Namour,” which made its world premiere at the 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival where the director won the festival’s LA Muse Award.
The announcement was made by ARRAY Founder Ava DuVernay.
Described as a sparse and stylized homage to the City of Angeles, “Namour” explores the complexities of personal responsibility versus moral convictions.
Synopsis: Steven Bassem is a young man going nowhere. His job as a valet driver for a fashionable restaurant brings him into regular contact with LA’s moneyed elite and their expensive automobiles, but Steven can’t shake the feeling that his temporary gig is somehow turning into his future. When Steven’s mother (Layla) announces that she’s selling the house - the only home Steven has ever known - because they can no longer afford it, Steven’s behavior starts to change in strange ways.
Featuring an international cast that includes star Karim Saleh (“Iron Man 2,” “Kingdom of Heaven”), as well as Waleed Zuaiter (“20th Century Women,” “London Has Fallen”) and new comer, Wedad Abdou, “Namour” chronicles the unraveling of Steven Bassem (Saleh) as he’s caught between his dead-end job and the demands of his Arab-American immigrant family.
“Writer-director Heidi Saman’s portrayal of frustration and anxiety within the American immigrant community is heartfelt yet elegantly understated in ‘Namour’,” explained ARRAY’s Executive Director Tilane Jones. “We’re excited to introduce Saman’s stirring debut feature film to an international film audience.”
ARRAY has acquired distribution rights in the Unites States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand territories. The film distribution collective has set a March 15 theatrical and on-demand premiere for “Namour.”
The deal was negotiated by Gordon Bobb of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano on behalf of ARRAY and producer Matthew Keene Smith on behalf of “Namour.”
