In a dark corner of a Fullerton lounge, Ahmad Zahra sat dressed in cargo shorts and a gray T-shirt as around him moved the hubbub of filming "Three Veils." Occasionally, actresses in little black dresses and heels walked by, waiting for the cameras to roll.
For more than a year, Zahra, the producer, had been trying to find investors to fund his film -- about the intersecting lives of three Middle Eastern women -- approaching individuals, trying to strike sponsorship deals and holding two small, failed fundraisers in the Los Angeles area.
But in late July, shooting a bachelorette party scene at Cherch Lounge in Fullerton and more than halfway through the production schedule, Zahra had only been able to secure a small percentage of the film's budget. The remainder was being funded by himself and the director on credit.
The film's story didn't seem to please anyone: To some it was too conservative because it involved an arranged marriage, while to others it was too liberal because of one character's struggle with her attraction to other women.
When Zahra, 40, began making indie films after graduating from UCLA film school, he was confident he would find support, both financial and consumer, among the Middle Eastern and Muslim communities in the United States. These, after all, were two intersecting communities that often complained of their one-dimensional portrayal in Hollywood movies as mostly fanatical terrorists.
But that support has yet to fully materialize. For many in these communities, Zahra said, a project must proselytize or match their personal views in order to warrant investment or even the purchase of a movie ticket or DVD.
At this weekend's Los Angeles Arab Film Festival, Zahra Pictures will co-present "Help," a Lebanese film portraying both a prostitute and a gay character. Each movie in the festival is being presented in concert with local Arab groups. But most shied away from being connected with "Help" because of the controversial story.
Michel Shehadeh, director of the festival, which also plays in other California cities, said the challenges faced by Zahra and "Help" are common among the filmmakers he deals with. This year's festival features films from across the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
"In terms of art, if they don't think of it as bad; they think of it as wasting their time," he said. "So they don't encourage their kids to go into it, because they don't think of it as a money maker."
