Minot native brings ‘American Herro’ documentary home for screening
"American Herro," a film about former Minot resident Herro Mustafa, will be shown in Minot State University’s Beaver Dam (Student Center, second floor) on April 25 at 7 p.m. Mustafa is currently a senior advisor to the Middle East for Vice President Joseph Biden. Kirk Roos, an MSU alumnus and Minot native, produced the documentary.
"American Herro" details the journey of Mustafa, a young Kurdish refugee from Iraq, and her family as she grows up in America, specifically in Minot, N.D. Graduating from Minot High School in 1991, she moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she studied national security and the Middle East. Then, she earned her master’s degree in international relations from Princeton University. Mustafa, eventually, became a White House staff member.
"It’s been an extraordinary honor to work with the Mustafas in telling their story on camera, but, it’s been life changing to have known them these past 30-plus years," said Roos. "The Mustafa family is near and dear to many people in Minot, and I hope people come and congratulate Herro on her, and her family’s, success story."
The filmmaker and his family were the Mustafa family’s first American friends; the two families literally lived in the same house in 1976. Roos and his father, Darrell, both made a trip to Iraq in 2007 to visit the Mustafas’ long-lost relatives. Roos filmed in North Dakota, Iraq and Washington, D.C., from 2006 to 2008.
A question-and-answer opportunity with Mustafa and Roos will immediately follow the film’s screening. A special reception will also be available. This diversity event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the Multicultural Center.
A premiere in Washington, D.C., is planned before the film is launched domestically and internationally, including public screenings and broadcast. The film’s progress and news can be viewed at www.americanherro.org.
For additional information, contact Roos at (701)730-5500 or kirk@comm-corps.com.
04/15/09