“Pomegranate is groundbreaking … a worthwhile story, one that is intriguing and culturally needed, especially during this time,” said Scott Rosenfelt, Executive Producer of Pomegranate, known for Home Alone, Mystic Pizza and Smoke Signals.
“Pomegranate is the proverbial American ‘mixing pop’ some writers have alluded to in the past. Weam does it well.” – Stanley D. Williams, PhD, author of The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue & Vice for Box Office Success
“A welcome, refreshing originality that examines some thought-provoking themes regarding ethnicity, religion, patriotism, family, community, the American dream and friendship.” – Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Reader
“I think anytime there’s opportunities, like this movie for instance, where the communities come together, it really provides an opportunity for reconciliation and understanding and education.” Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation and the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce
“(Namou) has been one of those public voices inside the Chaldean community that calls for cooperation and reconciliation between different people.” Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations
Samya Rahmani plays Niran, a Muslim young liberal (lead role)
· On the power of the story:
“It’s amazing to see that such a story was made… Not all stories we see nowadays are this diverse, this nuanced, with a female lead—a Muslim female lead that’s also Arab, and in this case Iraqi, which is what I identify as.”
· On cultural similarities and differences:
“This story of Pomegranate… shows you that we can focus on the differences or we can focus on the similarities and see that we’re all the same.”
· On the importance of representation:
“Very rarely do we get the microphone, we get the stage, to talk about these differences and what that means to us and how we navigate these things.”
· On the universality of the film’s themes:
“Everybody will be able to relate to her journey because it’s all universal things. It’s a coming-of-age story… but for Arab Americans, our coming of age often comes later because there’s so much more to work out.”
· On the creative connection to her character:
“For me as an artist, as an actor, I have this great gift to express myself, and for Niran, she’s a poet, she’s a writer. I really related to that part as well.”
· On the joy of working on set:
“I literally feel like I’m just on a family outing the whole time… We are all in this together, with this shared goal of making beautiful art. It’s been a beautiful, beautiful experience.”
Zain Shami who plays Hassina, Niran’s mother (Supporting Actress)
· On diversity and representation:
“It’s so important to showcase the diversity that we have within this movie. There are Christians, the Chaldeans, you’ve got the Muslims, and on set, we’ve got different sects of Muslims—which is so beautiful. The cast itself is so diverse on its own.”
· On the Arab American experience:
“The story is vitally important… to show the Arab American experience within the West through a different kind of lens, which was really cool to bring to life.”
· On being a hijabi actress:
“I’m actually hijabi, and to be put into this role as a real hijabi… I thought it was so beautiful that they picked me for that.”
· On the joy of creating the film:
“The set was a lot of fun because a lot of the characters here, the actors, are Arab Americans—we connect a lot. There are inside jokes that I think only Arab Americans would really get. It’s just so much fun because the crew is also experiencing Arab food, culture, and language.”
· On the importance of the film’s themes:
“When we look at Arab women in real life, we don’t realize that they go through these changes when they move here to the West. You get to experience that with Hasina.”
Pomegranate 