First Day

A young man from Lebanon named Yehya starts his first day at an American public school. With this change in location and culture Yehya deals with barriers in language and comprehension and attempts to maneuver through the difficulties that go along with such an immense change.

However, Yehya’s challenges are made more manageable when he meets a girl of Arabic nationality, named Farah, who helps guide him through his first day of school.

The film stars young actors Hussein Abboud & Nejma Fardous and was written & directed by Jesse McAnally with a story by Firas Allouch.

  • Jesse McAnally
    Director
    After Ashes, Sunny Days
  • Jesse McAnally
    Writer
  • Kyle Hoffman
    Producer
  • Firas Allouch
    Cinematographer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Jesse McAnally

Co-founder of Fosca Features, Jesse McAnally has a degree in media arts from Wayne State University. He currently serves as Creative Director of Fosca Features, LLC where he has successfully directed and produced four short films as well as many of professional promotional materials over the last three years.

His directorial debut in 2015, a short film titled, “Sunny Days,” has showcased in a variety of local festivals including the Moving Media Student Film Festival, the Royal Starr Film Festival, and the WDIV Film Challenge Detroit. His most recent film "After Ashes" continues to play the festival circuit, and has been accepted into 11 festivals and received numerous honors.

His films exemplify out of the box story-telling techniques that pushes the Short Film format into novel places that focuses on bending traditional driven narratives with fascinating concepts.

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