Middle Eastern Writers Committee Presents: RAMY - A Conversation with Ramy Youssef Dashboard Dashboard

Members (and one guest each) are invited to join this exciting event.

(12/4/2020)

The recently-formed Middle Eastern Writers Committee (MEWC) will hold its first event on Wednesday, December 16, at 7 p.m. Committee co-chairs Paiman Kalayeh and Cameron Fay will moderate a virtual discussion about bringing Middle Eastern experiences into mainstream characters and storylines, featuring guest panelist and Ramy creator Ramy Youssef.

“Ramy has been a pioneer for our community, becoming the first in so many ways, so we thought it was only fitting to have him be our first guest,” said Kalayeh.

The mission of the MEWC is to boost visibility and employment of Middle Eastern writers within the film and television industry, while celebrating and promoting accurate portrayals of Middle Eastern characters in all areas of media. As with other committees of the WGAW, it’s also a space to build community among writers.

“Anytime you can bring together groups and create community, you are planting seeds for projects that could happen later this year, next year, or maybe even in five or ten years,” said Youssef. “It takes a lot of seed planting for a show to become what it needs to be. It takes time, but what we’re building now will become the industry’s infrastructure in the next five to ten years. It’s all community.”

In recognition of his work on the hit Hulu drama-comedy series Ramy, Youssef recently won the Writers Guild of America West Evan Somers Memorial Award at the 2020 Media Access Awards. The Media Access Awards, founded by Norman Lear and Fern Field, annually honors the top creatives in film and television who have accurately portrayed individuals with disabilities and advanced representation for the disability community both on and off-screen. One of Youssef’s Ramy co-stars is his longtime friend and collaborator, Steve Way, who has Muscular Dystrophy.

“We’re in a place right now in the industry where we can do everything virtually,” Youssef told Connect while discussing the process of putting together a writers’ room for an upcoming series starring Way. “We can get quality work done at a distance — there’s never been a better time to connect with people and get multiple perspectives.”

Attendance for the December 16 event is available to WGAW members plus one guest. Members can RSVP here.

To hear more from Youssef, check out his August 13, 2020 appearance on WGAW’s podcast 3rd & Fairfax.

To learn more about WGAW’s Inclusion and Equity Committees, head to our Inclusion and Equity Department homepage.