Legally Homeless

Legally Homeless (in development)

A new documentary uncovers Palestinian comic Mohammed Amer's wild journey on becoming a U.S. Citizen.

If adversity is fuel for comedy, then Mohammed Amer is headed for stardom. Legally Homeless, a docu-comedy, showcases Mo Amer's career in stand-up and reveals his personal saga as a Palestinian refugee. While Amer was the first Arab-American to entertain troops in Iraq and has performed in over a dozen countries, he was a citizen of none of them. His parents are no strangers to being in a strange land. They were displaced from their home in Palestine to Kuwait before Mo was born, an experience he would share after Saddam Hussein's invasion forced his family to flee Kuwait when he was nine.

It was in his new home, Houston, that Amer discovered his passion. As a political and cultural outsider on top of being a teenager, humor became his outlet. The hardships of being legally homeless as well as an Arab in Texas provided a wellspring of material, enabling him to poke fun at his own family and challenge stereotypes while acknowledging the deeper problems faced by millions of refugees worldwide.

Success on stage led to opportunities from abroad, but without a passport and only a 'travel document', airports and borders presented a new set of problems and another mine for great material.

Legally Homeless will culminate with what took a decade to achieve. After 20 years, Amer became an American citizen which enabled him to take an emotion-laden journey to Palestine to meet relatives he had never seen in a home that had only existed in his dreams. And ten years after his first performance for American troops, we will follow him back overseas to entertain them once more.

The Academy Award-winning English actor, Peter Ustinov, is credited with saying that "comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." Mark Twain put it best: "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."

Produced by the award-winning team that brought you Allah Made Me Funny!

Stay tuned for updates.