Chick lit was my 'romantic' escape, but it never truly resonated with me because I didn't recognise my own thread in the narratives. It felt like a unique process, even though many other Muslim girls went through it. I was an avid reader of chick lit in my 20s, a decade during which I spent more than a few occasions meeting guys in my parents' living room. Yet the typical one-dimensional approach to the stereotypical Arab is not confined to cinema. I sat in a near empty cinema in tears, amazed that I was finally seeing something of my own life on screen. It didn't spew political drama or point fingers it told humorously a sweet and empathetic story about facing life's challenges with courage and heart. Written and directed by Palestinian-American Cherien Dabis, it told the tale of a Palestinian Christian woman moving to the US from the West Bank. Suddenly, her life is full of drama and complications, and she realizes that part of growing up is making difficult choices about what-and whom-she really wants.Conversely, I nearly burst with excitement when I came across an independent film called Amreeka a couple of years ago. Adding to the confusion, Samira is offered a promotion, yet isn't sure it's the job of her dreams. But her best friend Lara insists Menem isn't right for her, and now her childhood friend Hakeem has begun behaving oddly.

When she meets the charismatic Menem at a work retreat, Samira finds herself intrigued. She's not sure she needs to add any of her own. A girl has to have some standards, right? The truth is, Samira is already experiencing enough wedding drama as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine and as a gofer for her soon-to-be-married cousin and nemesis Zahra. Her general rule: no shoes with tassels, no cheesy leather jackets, no mustaches. Set in Sydney, Australia, Courting Samira is a charming and frothy romantic comedy about a twenty-seven-year-old Muslim woman who finds herself in an unexpected love triangle-a sparkling ode to meddling best friends, traditional courtship, The Princess Bride, and, of course, the possibility of love.Ĭoming from a moderately traditional Muslim family, twenty-seven-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz has endured her fair share of arranged matches-first dates she calls 'doorknock appeals,' where she and her possible suitors eat snacks in her living room in the company of both sets of parents.

Courting Samira by Amal Awad