Ajnabiyeh, a proof of concept
Why We're Backing Ajnabiyeh
We first got to know Batoul as a fellow in the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, where the quality of her writing, the specificity of her vision, and her warm, generous spirit made her unforgettable. She earned her spot in a highly competitive cohort, and she has been exceeding expectations ever since.
Like so many talented independent filmmakers right now, Batoul has had great meetings with production companies — real interest, real enthusiasm. But the industry is in a holding pattern. Deals are stalled, slates are frozen, and brilliant projects are waiting for a market that keeps pushing the finish line further away.
So Batoul did what great artists do: she stopped waiting. She assembled an extraordinary all-women team and started making Ajnabiyeh herself. Principal photography is nearly complete on this sharp, funny, deeply human portrait of Lebanese-Australian teenage girls navigating identity, war, and a desperate need for Alanis Morissette.
Now they're heading into post-production — and that's where independent filmmaking live or die. Editing, color, sound, mixing — it adds up fast, and it's the difference between a great project that finds its audience and one that never gets seen.
Your donation is tax-deductible through Moonshot Initiative, and goes directly to finishing this proof of concept. Help us prove that bold, independent voices don't need permission to tell their stories.
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More about the project
Meet The Team
In 1998, Australian-raised teenagers move back with their families to their ancestral homeland of Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon and prove that nothing — not even war — is as explosive as the daily minutiae of the average teen girl.
Batoul Mourad
Writer/Director
Batoul is a Lebanese-Australian-American teacher turned writer. She lives in New York City, but Lebanon will always be her home — and her favorite source material. She writes both kids' and adult TV and has made her way through the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, WeScreenplay Diverse Voice Lab, Sesame Street Writer’s Room workshop and the Yes.. And Laughter Lab.
Maria Raad
Cinematographer
Maria Raad is a cinematographer from Beirut, Lebanon. Through her work, she strives to capture beauty amidst chaos. After receiving a BFA in Film from Syracuse University, and a certificate of 35mm filmmaking from FAMU (Czech Republic), she participated in the American Film Institute’s 2023 Cinematography Intensive for Women and completed the IATSE Local 600 loader training. She is currently based in Brooklyn, NY.
Tori Lancaster
Production Designer
Tori Lancaster is a Lebanese-American production designer, art director, and multi-disciplinary visual artist whose work spans film, television, and commercial projects. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Filmmaking and a concentration in Production Design, she has brought her distinctive visual sensibility to projects such as Couples Therapy, Ziwe, and numerous independent features.