“In the house, it was important that they have bits and pieces of the culture, but it wasn’t over the top and stereotypical. My parents’ home had a mix of Western things, and things that were more Pakistani-American, or religiously-influenced. So, the production design was important for that. But also Hala’s clothing. She needed to look like a modern teenager, and I didn’t want her to stand out so much that we are thinking that she’s an other. She’s not. It’s that these are multiple identities. Because she lives in America, of course she’s going to be influenced by American fashion, [like] the way she wears her sneakers — even the way she wears her hijab. Sometimes it’s messy, and it’s not perfect because she’s a teenager, and she’s in a rush, and she’s got places to be. In her room, she has the prayer rug and sometimes it’s out and she’s praying on it, and sometimes it’s stowed away. But her room is also like any other teenage girl’s. All those things were important when I would talk to the heads of departments, to make sure it all feels like everything you place in the rooms, everything they wear, has to feel like it has a story, and it came from somewhere real.”

