Mecca, CA
A true story about the journey towards belonging while staying in touch with your roots.
About
TITLE: MECCA, CA
LOGLINE: Set against the backdrop of Ramadan, a recently immigrated Pakistani family embarks on a journey into the California desert in search of pay-phones where its said you can make free international calls back home.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: I was inspired to write this film after coming across a photograph of my parents happily chatting on a set pay-phones with their families back in Pakistan. It took me back to my childhood, where we'd hear about these glitchy pay-phones and end up on these hours long journeys across the DC area to make free calls back home. What was magical about theses experiences was that sometimes it would be just us, and other times we'd stand in lines full of immigrants from all over the world eagerly waiting to call back home. It was in these moments of connection through the phone, that I remember seeing my parents their happiest. This was the early 90s and now in an increasingly digitized and connected world, those moments of effort from the past are taken for granted. While communication has become so much easier, we're more disconnected than ever. Mecca, CA is a love letter to my childhood and a reflection of the things we fail to see about our parents when we're young.
LOGLINE: Set against the backdrop of Ramadan, a recently immigrated Pakistani family embarks on a journey into the California desert in search of pay-phones where its said you can make free international calls back home.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: I was inspired to write this film after coming across a photograph of my parents happily chatting on a set pay-phones with their families back in Pakistan. It took me back to my childhood, where we'd hear about these glitchy pay-phones and end up on these hours long journeys across the DC area to make free calls back home. What was magical about theses experiences was that sometimes it would be just us, and other times we'd stand in lines full of immigrants from all over the world eagerly waiting to call back home. It was in these moments of connection through the phone, that I remember seeing my parents their happiest. This was the early 90s and now in an increasingly digitized and connected world, those moments of effort from the past are taken for granted. While communication has become so much easier, we're more disconnected than ever. Mecca, CA is a love letter to my childhood and a reflection of the things we fail to see about our parents when we're young.
Learn More: http://www.khmalik.com