Cherien Dabis

Cherien Dabis was born in Omaha, Nebraska to a Palestinian father and Jordanian mother. She grew up in Ohio and Jordan. She received her B.A. with honors in creative writing and communication from the University of Cincinnati and her M.F.A. in film from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2004. Her first short film Make a Wish premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. She was a writer for the L Word TV series  (2006-2008). Amreeka is based on her childhood in Ohio and Jordan and is her first feature film. Dabis was name one of Variety magazine’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2009. Dabis is the writer, director, and star of her newest film, May in the Summer, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.