July 6, 2018

MPAC's Hollywood Bureau and Mike Mosallam Productions are now casting for Ubuntu, a short film shooting in Los Angeles, CA, in August of 2018.

Ubuntu tells a story of a Muslim high-schooler. When he finds out his lifelong best friend is gay, he grapples with their basketball teammates' views, his parents' views and his own religious identity.

We're casting for the following: 

9 Male Actors, ages 15-25:
Middle-Eastern, African-American, Asian-American, White

HAKEEM | Male / Principal / Middle-Eastern / 15-25
Thin, with fluid like agility. Caring, devoted friend and son, navigating the complexities of being the only Muslim kid on a high school basketball team.

DARREN | Male / Principal / African-American / 15 - 25
Strong, grounded, principled. The body of a star high school athlete but lacking the machismo that often accompanies the archetype. A well-intentioned, loyal friend.

KYLE | Male / Supporting / Asian-American / 15 - 25
A basketball team's energizer bunny. Quick-witted and class clown who means well but sometimes offends those around him if he feels it'll help him fit in.

KLUMP | Male / Supporting / African-American, Very Tall, Stocky / 15 - 25
Wise and quiet. Sometimes feels like a grandfather in comparison to his over-active, much shorter basketball teammates constantly scurrying below his elevated eyeline.

ADAM | Male / Supporting / White, Stocky / 15 - 25
An average-sized athlete with no ambitions to play basketball past high school. He is a determined individual with a high motor.

MARK | Male / Supporting / African-American / 15 - 25
Loud and aggressive. He is a loyal friend with old school values but to a fault. He pushes his basketball teammates to be better but also pushes their buttons in a way that he finds playful but is sometimes hurtful to the person he's teasing.

CHRIS | Male / Supporting / White / 15 - 25
Influential, but in a bad way. He dictates the tone of whatever friend group he mingles with and usually for the worse. He is outspoken and abrasive but at his core still a loyal friend because he desperately seeks to be heard and fit in.

JINKS | Male / Supporting / African-American, Scrawny, Slender, Lanky / 15 - 25
Clumsy but kind. He is well-intentioned but constantly tripping over his own words when he's not tripping over his own feet. Jinks is often the butt of the joke and try as he might, he can't shake the reputation. A semi-athletic Urkel.

SLIM | Male / Supporting / African-American, Slim, Slender, Lanky / 15 - 25 / PAID
A smooth operator. He can talk himself out of any situation, rib his friends with absolutely no malice, and has an all-around magnetic personality. He is attractive and friendly, a social butterfly.

8 Male & Female Actors, ages 35 - 60:
Middle-Eastern, African-American, Asian-American, White

COACH HILL | Male / Supporting / Non-Descript / 40 - 60 / PAID
The calmest and coolest high school basketball head coach you'll ever find. Not a leader that inspires with words, but rather with poise & composure.

ARCADE MANAGER | Male / Supporting / Non-Descript / 35 - 55 / PAID
A disgruntled employee who would rather do anything than work at an arcade. That being said, he has been working at an arcade for the past 10 years, so he knows the routine there.

MAYOR | Male / Supporting / Non-Descript / 35 - 55 / PAID
Owner of an arcade, but his mannerisms are undoubtedly mob boss-y and harder to see in that way under arcade lights.

SHEREEN | Female / Supporting / Middle-Eastern / 40 - 55 / PAID
Elegant but impassioned. She loves her son and her fears all relate to him and his future, but she's also a successful doctor with a level of poise that everyone around he adores.

MALEK | Male / Supporting / Middle-Eastern / 40 - 55 / PAID
Caring and composed. A silent and wise protector who doesn't like to dabble in gossip and hearsay.

TINA Female / Supporting / White / 40 - 55 / PAID
An energetic housewife who loves posting Instagram pictures of her son and his basketball team. She has been inundated with propaganda about Muslims and other minorities through the media.

MARY | Female / Supporting / Asian-American / 40 - 55 / PAID
A kind-hearted but generally oblivious woman. She's well-intentioned but has a tendency to commit faux-paus without knowing.

EMILY | Female / Supporting / White / 40 - 55 / PAID
An easily impressionable woman with a proclivity for following her best friend Tina's every move. A mother and a school teacher who is soft-spoken and generally lost.

To submit:

Send headshot, resume and/or reels to: WatchMMP@gmail.com