EXCLUSIVE: Doug Liman, the filmmaker behind recent streaming hits Road House and The Instigators, is throwing his support behind If You See Something, an indie immigrant romance marking the U.S. debut of celebrated Iraqi director Oday Rasheed, which he’s boarded as executive producer.
Word of his involvement comes following the film’s world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival as a part of their 25th anniversary lineup. All rights to the pic, written by Jess Jacobs and the late Avram Noble Ludwig, are currently available.
“This film is an honest exploration of the human side of a politicized topic,” Liman told Deadline. “I’m honored to stand behind Oday, Jess and their film which sheds light on the deeply personal journeys of those navigating the complex realities of immigration.”
If You See Something follows a romance between an American woman and an Iraqi doctor seeking political asylum in the United States, and how their relationship and his asylum are threatened when a crisis strikes back in Baghdad.
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“I believe that this is the right time to address this emotive topic,” of immigration, said Rasheed, “not only from the immigrant’s perspective, but also from the Americans who are impacted by immigrants’ past. On a human, political, economical, and social level, what we live today is an ultimate struggle between rejection and acceptance. I sought to communicate a unique and timely story about love and the importance of faith in a society plagued by judgment and unforgiving views.”
If You See Something stars Adam Bakri (Omar), Jess Jacobs (Butterfly Caught), Nasser Faris (The Looming Tower) and Tony Award winner Reed Birney (The Menu). Jacobs, Stephanie Roush, and Brian Newman produced, alongside Frank Hall Green and Caitlin Zvoleff for Greenmachine Film, Andre Basso for 9th Street Films, and Joseph Stephans.
A writer, director and producer born and raised in Baghdad, Rasheed immigrated to New York City in 2012 and has been living and working in Los Angeles since 2022. His first feature, Underexposure, is believed to have been the first shot in occupied Baghdad after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Known for her work in independent film and documentary, and for building bridges between artists and social justice movements, Jacobs, with If You See Something, made her feature screenwriting debut. Her short-form screenwriting debut, Choices, navigates abortion and was released in 2022, immediately following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Known for his work on titles ranging from Swingers and Mr. and Mrs. Smith to Tom Cruise starrer Edge of Tomorrow, Liman is coming off success with his Road House remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which garnered Amazon MGM Studios’ biggest-ever debut, and Apple’s heist pic The Instigators, starring Casey Affleck and Matt Damon. Both films have sequels in development, though if Liman ends up involved with either of those projects, it’ll likely be the latter, given his clash with Amazon over Road House‘s streaming release. At present, he’s also developing a Tom Cruise/SpaceX picture that will take the star to outer space, among other projects.
Liman is repped by CAA and Weintraub Tobin Chediak.
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