Ann Arbor, MI – December 20, 2017 – The production of a timely documentary film, Me, The “Other” has brought over sixty people together to voice an urgent message for our times: elimination of prejudice of all kinds as a prerequisite to achieving unity. The unsettling and rapidly-shifting energies in the world inspired over sixty (mostly volunteers) cast and crew members to come together with the urge to address the growing hatred and prejudice within our communities in a documentary film guaranteed to spark conversations about “otherness” and “oneness” in our human family.

Along with a team of professional artists, including a Director of Photography who recently shot Jared Leto’s documentary, “A Day in the Life of America”, the cast of Me, The “Other” has inspired the film’s unfolding rich mosaic of human experience. The cast is comprised of twelve students from three local universities in Michigan. The diverse group ranges from an African-American acting student from Flint who tells a personal heartbreaking story of the current water crisis in her community; a student from Mexico on the DACA program living in fear of deportation; a #MeToo story of an orphaned immigrant from Cameroon; a moving gay relationship between a liberal media student and a conservative comic book artist; a Pakistani Muslim dental student; a student from the storm-devastated island of Puerto Rico; and a 66-year-old transgendered student who was homeless and alcohol and drug dependent but chose education over suicide.

For more information about the cast, please visit metheotherfilm.com

The film features a predominately Michigan-based cast and crew and an original score by local Ann Arbor musician, Levi Taylor; and an original song recorded by talented local Michigan singer/songwriter, May Erlewine entitled, ‘Never One Thing’ which inspired the film’s official tagline: “Otherness” is never one thing.

About the Film:
Me, The “Other” is a documentary film created in less than five months about a diverse group of students living in Washtenaw County in Southeast Michigan. Through their struggles, we find ourselves in each of them.

“I believe that at this critical juncture in our journey as a human race, we need a radical paradigm shift in our approach to the preservation of our collective home by starting to view our planet as one country and humanity its citizens. Elimination of prejudice is one of the fundamental principles in establishing this goal. Storytelling is a powerful tool in raising awareness and bridging the gaps. With this film, we set out to tell stories of a diverse cast of characters who are on some level experiencing prejudice in their lives. They come from various backgrounds but in that deep place inside, they are all essentially one… and we are one of them. My personal hope for this film is to expose that sacred place inside where beyond the clouded isms of race, religion, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance—lies a place of light, warmth, hope, and pure love called the human soul.” —Shidan Majidi, Director/Co-Producer.

For more information about the film, please visit metheotherfilm.com

About the Producers:
Shidan Majidi: Co-Producer & Director
Shidan is a director and producer who has worked in the New York film and theater industries since 1991, and is currently working on several hit Broadway musicals.

Shahrzad Mirafzali: Co-Producer
Shahrzad, although new to producing, has adapted to the position remarkably. She lives with her family in Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently works for the University of Michigan.

Sponsors & Funders:
Zingerman’s
Graduate Ann Arbor