“Émigré/Americana – The Feature Film”

Help Bring Émigré/Americana — The Feature Film — to Life

From the director of the award-winning short film comes the next chapter — a powerful story about identity, belonging, and hope in America. Your support will help us kick off pre-production and make this feature a reality.

Story

Over the past year, Émigré/Americana — our short film — has moved audiences across festivals and continents. It tells the story of a Pakistani asylum seeker in America whose life takes a profound turn on the day his application is set to be approved.

Now, it’s time to tell the full story.

As an actor, filmmaker, and activist, I’ve spent my career using art to bridge the gap between cultures, challenge stereotypes, and amplify underrepresented voices. This feature film is the culmination of that journey — a story born from real experience, faith, loss, and resilience.

So many of you have been following and rooting for me — from theatre to television, from our short’s festival circuit to Kinema screenings. This is your chance to take that support one step further: to help us make the feature film and ensure this story reaches the widest audience possible.

Why Now

Films like this don’t get made without community.

We’re raising $100,000 to begin pre-production, which will fund:

Script and story development – expanding the short into a full-length screenplay

Early casting and location scouting – setting up the creative foundation

Production planning & budgeting – working with producers and line producers

️ Investor & grant materials – to attract larger-scale funding for full production

This is the first step toward our total feature budget of $5 million. With your help, we’ll be ready to approach financiers, producers, and granting bodies with a finished package that proves there’s an audience ready for this story.

How You Can Help

Donate whatever you can — every dollar counts.

Share this page on social media and tag friends who support indie film and immigrant stories. Follow us on instagram

Go to our Kinema page and rent out the short film to view!

If you watched the short film and loved it, this is your moment to help tell the rest of the story.

All proceeds go directly toward pre-production costs and materials that will bring us one step closer to rolling cameras.

This film is not just mine — it’s ours.

It’s for every artist who’s ever felt unseen, every immigrant who’s ever felt unheard, and every audience member who believes cinema can create empathy.

Let’s build this together.

Donate today and help bring Émigré/Americana — the feature — to life.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

– Usman Ally and the Émigré/Americana team