Arasian (2017) – Assistant director

What does it take for a 14-year-old half-Emirati schoolboy to be socially accepted? Khalifa struggles to hide his half-Filipino identity from his Emirati schoolmates. He communicates with his Filipina mother through his younger sister and asks his mother to drop him at the back entrance to the school so no one will see her. At school he secretly befriends the Filipina cleaner. When the school bullies discover his secret, Khalifa is forced to make a choice - stand up for his Filipino heritage or succumb to peer pressure?