Drive-In to Support Beirut w/DETROIT UNLEADED

Opens on August 22

Midnight weekend screenings happen on Friday & Saturday nights (meaning arrive on Friday and/or Saturday night by 11:45pm for seating, the movie starts after midnight)!

Director: Rola Nashef Run Time: 93 min. Release Year: 2013

Starring: Akram El-Ahmar, EJ Assi, Mary Assel, Mike Batayeh, Nada Shouhayib

Plus filmmaker Rola Nashef in person!

ALL DONATIONS will be MATCHED up to $5,000 by The Film Lab, if you give by August 22!

Donate Here

This screening is a fundraiser to support the Lebanese Red Cross to help the people of Beirut in the aftermath of the deadly explosion that occurred on August 4. The Red Cross is focusing its efforts on medical support for victims of the blast and providing emergency shelter to those displaced from their homes.

The official address of the Herman Kiefer Complex is 1151 Taylor Street, Detroit, 48202. We ask that you approach the screening site from Taylor Street. You will see a gate on your left at the corner of Taylor and Byron Streets. Turn left and proceed down Byron, past Hazelwood, and check in at the gate on your right. If you go past Blaine, you’ve gone too far.

The gate opens at 8:00 p.m. Film starts at ~9:00 p.m. For safety and optimal viewing experience, please no late arrivals.

DETROIT UNLEADED is a fresh, funny, and heartfelt take on the boy-meets-girl comedy. When an ambitious young man, Sami (E.J. Assi), is forced to take over his family’s gas station in Detroit after the shooting death of his father, his life changes in unexpected ways. Behind the bulletproof glass, Sami reluctantly runs the family business with his cousin (Mike Batayeh, “Breaking Bad”), a charismatic hustler with dreams of expanding their struggling business into an unleaded empire.

Within this unique Detroit neighborhood, their gas station becomes more than just a pit stop for rolling papers and fake perfume, but a place where a steady stream of unforgettable characters come and go with humor and heart. When a gorgeous “up-do girl” named Najlah (Nada Shouhayib) comes to deliver cheap long-distance phone cards, Sami quickly falls for her. Afraid her overprotective brother Fadi will disapprove, Najlah begins an under-the-counter romance with Sami and his shift becomes anything but routine.