DETROIT — Local audiences will have a rare opportunity to view “Detroit Unleaded,” a new and notable short film by Lebanese-born filmmaker Rola Nashef. The fictional film is set in an inner city gas station and provides a unique   perspective into the lives of young Arab Americans who operate the business and interact with their customers.  It will be featured along with five other short films by Michigan filmmakers in a program titled “Michigan Festvial Shorts,” showing on November 29 at 7:30 pm at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak. Each film includedin the program has made the cut to become Official Selections at a variety of recent local, national and international film festivals.

A trailer for this short film that deals with complexities of the Arab / African American relations in Detroit set within the context of a night shift at a gas station.

“Detroit Unleaded” has been featured at more than a dozen film festivals in 2007, including the Arab Film Festival, the Beirut International Film Festival and the Everglades Film Festival in South Africa. It has been the recipient of several honors including the Michigan Award for Best Short Film at the Flint Film Festival, Best Short Film at the Trinity Film Festival and was given the award for Best Performance at the New Haven Underground Film Festival. Filmmaker Rola Nashef will be  on hand at the November 29th screening  to answer questions after the event.