This year, AFMI is proud to showcase a collection of work by talented Arab directors, writers, producers and actors based in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
SHARE THE PIE is about Reem, an award-winning Palestinian chef who is caught between the media hype and the brutal inequality of the restaurant industry. After the pandemic and government inaction left her beloved bakery scrambling to survive, Reem surprises a prestigious award ceremony by taking a risky stand for her fellow small business owners, her workers - and herself.
SHARE THE PIE is episode 4 of NORMAL AIN'T NORMAL, a scripted episodic series based on real people's stories, that explores the struggles, absurdities, and surprising possibilities of working-class people navigating the strange, "post" COVID terrain across the United States. Dramatic, captivating, and darkly comedic, the series follows colorful characters who offer a unique, intimate glimpse inside the U.S.'s growing fault lines of race, class, and extreme inequality.
About the director:
Yvan Iturriaga is an Oakland, CA-based writer/director who spent his childhood border crossing through Latin America, living in the extended Chilean exile community. He co-directed the documentaries A Photographer’s Journey for the PBS American Masters series, and Fantastic Negrito: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? Yvan also wrote and directed the narrative shorts Sui Generis, Beep and Aparecides. Most recently, Yvan directed the anthology mini series Normal Ain't Normal, executive produced by Rosario Dawson.
About the writers:
Reem Assil is a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: West, a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Chef, and the owner of Reem’s California, a bakery with locations in Oakland and San Francisco. She was also the opening chef for Dyafa, an Arab fine-dining restaurant that was awarded a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year. She has established herself at the intersection of food, Arab culture, and social justice. She recently published her first book Arabiyya: Recipes From the Life of an Arab in Diaspora.
Josh Healey is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and co-executive producer with Offsides Productions. A regular performer on NPR’s Snap Judgment, Healey wrote and produced two seasons of The North Pole, a comedic web series featuring Boots Riley and W. Kamau Bell about gentrification, global warming, and gluten-free donuts. Together with Yvan Iturriaga, he created and co-wrote the new digital series Normal Ain't Normal with Rosario Dawson, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Reem Assil.
- Year2022
- Runtime6 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorYvan Iturriaga
- ScreenwriterReem Assil, Josh Healey
- ProducerJosh Healey, Yvan Iturriaga, Majo Calderon
- Executive ProducerRosario Dawson
- Co-ProducerLeah Rucinski
- CastReem Assil
This year, AFMI is proud to showcase a collection of work by talented Arab directors, writers, producers and actors based in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
SHARE THE PIE is about Reem, an award-winning Palestinian chef who is caught between the media hype and the brutal inequality of the restaurant industry. After the pandemic and government inaction left her beloved bakery scrambling to survive, Reem surprises a prestigious award ceremony by taking a risky stand for her fellow small business owners, her workers - and herself.
SHARE THE PIE is episode 4 of NORMAL AIN'T NORMAL, a scripted episodic series based on real people's stories, that explores the struggles, absurdities, and surprising possibilities of working-class people navigating the strange, "post" COVID terrain across the United States. Dramatic, captivating, and darkly comedic, the series follows colorful characters who offer a unique, intimate glimpse inside the U.S.'s growing fault lines of race, class, and extreme inequality.
About the director:
Yvan Iturriaga is an Oakland, CA-based writer/director who spent his childhood border crossing through Latin America, living in the extended Chilean exile community. He co-directed the documentaries A Photographer’s Journey for the PBS American Masters series, and Fantastic Negrito: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? Yvan also wrote and directed the narrative shorts Sui Generis, Beep and Aparecides. Most recently, Yvan directed the anthology mini series Normal Ain't Normal, executive produced by Rosario Dawson.
About the writers:
Reem Assil is a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: West, a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Chef, and the owner of Reem’s California, a bakery with locations in Oakland and San Francisco. She was also the opening chef for Dyafa, an Arab fine-dining restaurant that was awarded a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year. She has established herself at the intersection of food, Arab culture, and social justice. She recently published her first book Arabiyya: Recipes From the Life of an Arab in Diaspora.
Josh Healey is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and co-executive producer with Offsides Productions. A regular performer on NPR’s Snap Judgment, Healey wrote and produced two seasons of The North Pole, a comedic web series featuring Boots Riley and W. Kamau Bell about gentrification, global warming, and gluten-free donuts. Together with Yvan Iturriaga, he created and co-wrote the new digital series Normal Ain't Normal with Rosario Dawson, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Reem Assil.
- Year2022
- Runtime6 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorYvan Iturriaga
- ScreenwriterReem Assil, Josh Healey
- ProducerJosh Healey, Yvan Iturriaga, Majo Calderon
- Executive ProducerRosario Dawson
- Co-ProducerLeah Rucinski
- CastReem Assil