For Cherien Dabis, the Emmy-Nominated Palestinian American Director of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ Storytelling Is a Matter of Survival
variety.comCherien Dabis When I was offered the opportunity to direct the “Only Murders in the Building” episode “The Boy From 6B,” which focuses on the story of a deaf character, I knew instantly that I had to do it.
It was precisely the kind of story that excites me, a story told from a point of view we rarely get to see, portraying a character from a community that’s underrepresented and misrepresented.
I’ve built my career upon telling stories about marginalized communities, and by doing so, I’ve attempted to push us all out of the margins and into the center.
Why? Because I know all too well the pain of misrepresentation. During the first Gulf War, my Palestinian Jordanian immigrant family was so egregiously discriminated against in small-town Ohio that not only did we receive death threats on a daily basis, but the Secret Service came to my high school to investigate a rumor that my 17-year-old sister had threatened to kill the president.
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