Towelhead (2008)

Synopsis
Six Feet Under creator and American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of author Alicia Erian's controversial novel Towelhead. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is a 13-year-old Arab-American who leaves behind her self-centered mother (Maria Bello) and raptorial boyfriend in favor of living with her stern Lebanese father Rifat (Peter MacDissi). Rifat lives in a modest, suburban Texas home next to a racist reservist (Aaron Eckhart) and a hormone-driven African-American teen (Eugene Jones) -- the latter of whom quickly becomes Jasira's boyfriend. As America launches their initial invasion of Iraq, Jasira finds herself caught up in a potentially explosive situation that is only compounded by the growing, post-9/11 hysteria about Arabs and the snooping of her pregnant, busybody neighbor (Toni Collette). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide