Jeff Sutton Movies
A Palestinian single mother and her son resettle in the American Midwest with bittersweet results, in first-time director Cherien Dabis' gentle fish-out-of-water comedy drama Amreeka. Nisreen Faour stars as divorcée Mouna, a resident of the West Bank who works as a local bank manager while raising her 16-year-old son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), on the side. Each day, the two must put their lives in jeopardy by driving through potentially lethal Middle Eastern checkpoints to accomplish their daily business, but their situation changes dramatically when Mouna finally succeeds at getting a green card. The two fly from Jerusalem to Chicago, but get a bitter taste of the reality behind the American dream when the customs department claims the money that Mouna wrapped in a cookie tin, leaving her penniless. The nascent immigrants promptly move in with Mouna's sister, Raghda (Hiam Abbass of Lemon Tree), and her family, and Mouna sets about trying to find a bank job in the U.S. that is equivalent to her old position at home; unfortunately, this proves impossible and she ends up serving "sliders" at a White Castle fast food franchise and earning minimum wage. Meanwhile, Fadi begins attending a local high school and runs headfirst into not-so-subtle racism and the imminent threat of nativistic violence. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, (more)
- 2002
An emotionally distant youngster comes to terms with his personal demons, aided by a pair of ghastly supernatural beings in first-time director Jeff Erbach's 2002 film, The Nature of Nicholas. Young Nicholas (Jeff Sutton) has felt a significant void in his life since the death of his father in a plane crash. To fill this hole, Nicholas has developed an obsessive infatuation with his friend Bobby (David Turnbull), a young athletic type who has recently begun to appreciate the charms of the opposite sex. To further complicate matters, a spirit-like image resembling his father has begun appearing to Nicholas and seems to be trying to help Nicholas pay more attention to girls than to Bobby. At the height of his confusion, Nicholas rashly kisses Bobby, which causes Bobby to split into two -- with one half of Bobby remaining as his normal self and finding repulsion in Nicholas' act and the other half being a monstrous mirror image of Bobby. Left with only the monstrous version of Bobby -- which is actually the version he prefers -- Nicholas takes the ghoul into his care and hides the creature for himself. However, Nicholas finds the secret to be more than he can bear and is eventually forced to come to terms with his emotions. The Nature of Nicholas was selected as part of the Panorama Canada program at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Sutton, David Turnbull, (more)
