INTERVIEW
STEPHEN DUNN TALKS ABOUT LITTLE AMERICA’S QUEER REFUGEE EPISODE The Canadian director discusses how he helped bring a gay Syrian’s story to life for Apple’s new TV show
By Christopher Turner
In January, Apple released its highly anticipated original series Little America, the first scripted series on Apple TV+’s 2020 slate, which counts The Big Sick writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon among its executive producers. Inspired by the true stories originally featured in Epic Magazine, Little America goes beyond the headlines with eight relatable, emotional journeys about the experience of immigrating and living in the United States of America. To say the series has been a success and a launching pad for conversations on America’s messy immigration system is an understatement, which is why it’s not surprising that Apple has already committed to a second season. Every episode is an excellent half-hour of television exploring immigrant stories of overcoming or confronting insurmountable hardships. One of the most powerful stories is the final episode of Season 1, “The Son,” which tells the story of a gay man named Rafiq (Haaz Sleiman) who lives in the Syrian village of Qardha, and is forced to flee Syria amid his family’s disapproval.
MARCH / APRIL 2020
In the episode, Rafiq’s father Bassam (Igal Naor) catches him kissing another man in an alley and scalds the flesh of Rafiq’s arm – something that Bassam explains is an act of mercy. Rafiq flees to Damascus, where he befriends Zain (Adam Ali), a flamboyant young gay man who loves Kelly Clarkson. Zain helps Rafiq accept himself and ultimately advises him to seek asylum in America, but before Rafiq can take that advice, his brother tracks him down and in a homophobic rage smashes up the restaurant that Rafiq and Zain work at. “The Son,” like the other installments of Little America, is based on a true story: in this instance, of Shadi Ismail, a gay man who fled Syria due to persecution, going first to Jordan and ultimately finding asylum in Boise, Idaho. His journey was adapted from Epic Magazine by Canadian-born writer Stephen Dunn (whose brilliant feature film debut Closet Monster in 2015 made international headlines) and Iraqi-born Amrou Al-Kadhi, a non-binary writer and drag performer. Dunn also directed the episode. IN recently had the chance to sit down with Dunn to talk about the episode and how it came together, plus queer storytelling, Kelly Clarkson…and the upcoming Queer As Folk reboot! 20
IN MAGAZINE
Tell us how the project came about. I was working with Lee Eisenberg on Queer As Folk when he told me he wanted to do a queer episode of Little America. He shared the true story of Shadi Ismail, which I thought was so beautiful. I instantly thought about my good friend and co-writer Amrou Al-Kadhi. I shared the story with Amrou; we had very similar connections to the material, and very organically launched into writing the episode. How did the two of you work together in writing the script? Funny enough, it was a very international affair! Amrou is based in the UK and I wrote entirely out of Canada. We would collaborate virtually and send drafts back and forth. Did you connect with the real “Rafiq”/Shadi during the process? We were given Shadi’s article recounting his experience immigrating from Syria to the US and conducted some interviews [with him] through the magazine, but we never actually met him in person until the Little America premiere in Los Angeles. That being said, Amrou and I had a very personal connection to the material, and there’s a little bit of our experiences in there as well. How did your own experiences influence “The Son?” Although we come from very different cultural backgrounds, Amrou and I approached this episode organically, based on our own experiences as queer folks who have been forced to rebuild our lives due to rejection by our families. Although this episode is very unique to the queer Arab experience, there is something so universal and human about Shadi’s story that is relatable no matter your background. What was the biggest surprise to you in researching Syrian culture and immigration in general? The biggest surprise for me came when Amrou explained the potential reason behind Shadi’s father burning him as punishment for being gay. I think it’s very easy for a lot of Western folk to hear this story and write it off as a barbaric act of violence without fully understanding the cultural implications. Amrou explained to me that in Islam you’re taught that being gay means that you will go to hell – not only you, but it also damns your mother. The act of burning comes from a place of fear and protection to illustrate that this is what hell could feel like, but for all eternity.
