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Youth in Dearborn | The Story of Rana & Mahdi

The story of Rana Elhusseini and Mahdi Hazime, two exceptional senior athletes pursuing scholarships at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan- known as "Little Lebanon". Both practicing Muslims, Rana and Mahdi are helping to pave the way for young Arab-American athletes in a city that hosts the highest percentage of Arab-Americans in The States. "Youth in Dearborn" shows the challenges that both they and their parents have faced in coming to, and growing up Lebanese Muslims in America, and is a small window into Muslim youth and Arab culture in Dearborn.

  • Andy Madeleine
    Director
  • Michael Steves
    Producer
  • Lucas San Juan
    Producer
  • Rana Elhusseini
    Key Cast
  • Mahdi Hazime
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Human Interest, Athletics, Youth Culture
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 18, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (RED), S16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Andy Madeleine

Andy Madeleine is a commercial, music video, and documentary Director originally from Detroit, MI, currently working between Los Angeles and New York. His first foray into filmmaking was an attempt to challenge the banality of growing up in the suburbs of Detroit- borrowing his parents’ 8mm tape camera (which he still has), and enlisting a handful of friends to act in a series of poorly written sketches (which he also still has). His latest, award winning documentary “Above Below Sea Level” premiered at Louisiana International Film Festival in 2017.

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Director Statement

I've always been infatuated with filmmaking- the medium itself, yes- but outside of that, much of the infatuation stems in the way that it creates a vehicle for me to interact with the other things I love- to give a voice to things that I view as interesting, beautiful, humorous, etc. This story about Rana & Mahdi is deeply personal to me- I grew up around Dearborn. However, as a youth, I failed to comprehend its importance- as I grew, I began to understand the significance of the community, its beauty, its uniqueness. This story is not only about Rana & Mahdi's individual journeys as athletes, but also about the journey of Dearborn as a community, the two of them amongst many in the younger generation sharing their culture. They're both striking individuals in their own ways, and I'm honored that they welcomed me into their world and allowed me to share their stories.