
Another day, another great pickup: Drafthouse Films has acquired Amira & Sam, an exemplary romantic comedy that recalls the straightforwardness of the genres classics while sidestepping so many of their pitfalls by being true to its well-developed characters. The film follows Sam (Martin Starr), a former Green Beret, and Amira, an Iraqi imigrant with a distrust towards soldiers (newcomer Dina Shihabi) as they find themselves in an unlikely relationship. The characters in and of themselves eschew the notorious meet cute cliches. And yet so many other genre staples smartly remain intact, such as the primary importance the setting bears on the scenario: in this case, a bustling New York City.
Amira & Sam is a real charmer, and youll be able to see it early next year or sooner, if youre planning to attend Forever Fest in November! Check out the full press release below:
DRAFTHOUSE FILMS ACQUIRES THE
FUNNY & SMART ROMANCE, AMIRA & SAM
The deftly engaging and comedic indie romance slated for a cross-platform release in early 2015
AUSTIN, TEXAS Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced today the acquisition of US distribution rights to Sean Mullin's charming and fresh love story Amira & Sam.
Starring Martin Starr (Silicon Valley, Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up) as Sam, Paul Wesley (Before I Disappear, The Vampire Diaries), and introducing Dina Shihabi as Amira, the romantic comedy had its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival earlier this year, where it was an audience favorite. Amira & Sam has since been invited to a slew of festivals this fall, including the upcoming Forever Fest in Austin.
Sam is an honorable army vet who, while visiting his old unit's Iraqi translator in New York, meets Amira, the translator's niece and an illegal immigrant. After Amira has an unfortunate encounter with the police, Sam reluctantly takes her in while she sorts out her immigration status. Their begrudging connection burgeons into an unlikely romance until Amira is threatened with deportation and Sam is forced to make a critical decision.
This is the first feature written and directed by Sean Mullin from Five By Eight Productions. Produced by Terry Leonard from Strongman and Erich Lochner and Matt Miller from Vanishing Angle, Amira & Sam also stars Laith Nakli (The Visitor) and David Rasche (Burn After Reading, Bored To Death). The Executive Producers are James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) and Meg Montagnino-Jarrett & Peter Sobiloff from Hole in One Productions.
Drafthouse Films exec James Emanuel Shapiro had his fingers crossed in acquiring it ever since he first saw the film: Amira & Sam is the rare kind of festival discovery. It goes beyond what you expect and becomes something truly exciting and special. We are proud to get a chance to release this film and really believe there's a big audience out there for this gem.
Mullin, a West Point graduate and army veteran, says, Most soldier-coming-home-from-war films deal with soldiers battling PTSD, and so I wanted to flip that well-worn premise on its head and ask: what if the soldier who returns is fine, but it's his country that's lost its mind?
Its not often that you find a distributor with as much passion about your film as your filmmaking team, but thats exactly what weve found with Drafthouse Films, adds producer Erich Lochner. Were thrilled to be partnering with them.
Amira & Sam will screen in select theaters across North America and will be released on a variety of VOD platforms and digital, DVD, and Blu-ray formats in early 2015.
The deal was negotiated by Zac Bright from Preferred Content, Bec Smith from UTA Independent Film Group and Andre Des Rochers from Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP on behalf of the producers, and James Emanuel Shapiro from Drafthouse Films.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/05/2026
Scripps Research immunologist Dennis Burton elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences A leader in broadly neutralizing antibodies, Burton has helped driv...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
01/05/2026
BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing ( BKB ), today announced the appointment of Will Wright ...
01/05/2026
Lawo has been at the center of the industry's transition to IP and other next-generation technologies. At NAB 2026, its story was the Edge One AV stagebox, ...
01/05/2026
HBA Media, acting on behalf of NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Incorporated, has announced broadcast and streaming distribution for Kentucky Derby 152, taking pl...
01/05/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
01/05/2026
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. But a playlist that tells you which The Devi...
01/05/2026
One of the world's biggest popstars is headed to El Cl sico. Later this mont...
01/05/2026
Limited-edition model celebrates 15th anniversary
Heritage Audio's range of monitor controllers has just gained a new member, the Baby RAM Black Edition...
01/05/2026
Dumble recreation now available as UAD plug-in
Along with their renowned processing plug-ins, Universal Audio have been steadily introducing emulations of c...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
To celebrate the opening of its new showroom and office, Lightware UK hosted a dedicated launch event at the new London location. The event welcomed partners, c...
01/05/2026
Choice without compromise
The broadcast industrys transformation is accelerating, and traditional broadcasters are having to fundamentally reinvent how they o...
01/05/2026
Beam Dynamics will return to MPTS 2026 with its asset intelligence platform, helping systems integrators, live production teams, media facilities and profession...
01/05/2026
Best-in-class UX design and rapid, scalable delivery for next-generation viewing experiences
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced a coll...
01/05/2026
Compact new cforce MAX lens motor brings unrivaled speed and responsiveness to t...
01/05/2026
Panavision welcomes Fritz Heinzle as Vice President of Sales
Brie Clayton May 1, 2026
0 Comments
Heinzle will support Panavision's global growth s...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/05/2026
LONDON, APRIL 30, 2026 The Post Republic London's Re-recording Mixer and Dialogue Editor Dan Johnson has built a reputation for clean, emotionally resonan...
01/05/2026
Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations in Photoshop & Lightroom
Deepa Subramaniam April 30, 2026
0 Comments
Your most tedious creative tasks just got ea...
01/05/2026
Berklee Partners with Santander US to Establish Global Opportunity Fund The $400,000 grant offers students access to experiential learning opportunities withi...
01/05/2026
Student Spotlight: Keziah Thomas The Indian composer, who was named the 2026 student commencement speaker for Berklee College of Music, talks about how shes p...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa to host the series final tw...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Got plans? Cancel them. Sky Sports Big Weekend is coming
Sky Sports is preparing for a bumper weekend of live action, including Manchester ...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Sky Sports to broadcast all matches from World Sevens Football London edition
Sky Sports will be the exclusive UK broadcaster of the women...
01/05/2026
Back to All News
NIAJ Fest Gets Los Angeles In on the Joke With Free Pop-Up Events
Entertainment
01 May 2026
GlobalUnited States
Link copied to clipboard
...
01/05/2026
RT Sport awarded first pick free-to-air on Wednesday nights
Champions League and Super Cup finals
Highlights on Wednesday nights
RT today (Thursday 30 Apri...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
30/04/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engage...
30/04/2026
NBC Sports will air national MLB coverage on Sundays beginning May 3, with MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the debut of th...
30/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live.
Grahn joined Cle...
30/04/2026
ARRI has introduced the cforce MAX, a new lens motor for the Hi-5 lens control system. The cforce MAX is twice as fast as the cforce plus motor it replaces whil...
30/04/2026
Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE will jointly present an integrated control room solu...
30/04/2026
The CW Network and ESPN have announced an agreement to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events. CW Sports will continue to ...
30/04/2026
Ed Sheeran's The Loop' tour launched in Auckland in January 2026 before moving on to Australia, with South America and the United States to follow late...