Valentino’s Ghost

Valentino’s Ghost – which has been called “superb”, “courageous” and “disturbing” – exposes the ways in which America’s foreign policy agenda in the Middle East drives the U.S. media’s portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. The film lays bare the truths behind taboo subjects that are conspicuously avoided, or merely treated as sound bites, by the mainstream American media: “Why do they hate us?” “Why do we hate them?” What were the events that led to the 9/11 attacks? What are the politics behind the U.S.-Israeli relationship? Why is there a robust debate about these subjects in Europe, the Arab World and in Israel itself, but not in the U.S.? Valentino’s Ghost provides a fresh inquiry which challenges the media’s daily barrage of rhetoric and misinformation about our complex and vital relationship with this part of the world.
A dozen expert commentators including Gore Vidal, Robert Fisk, John Mearsheimer, and Niall Ferguson elucidate the reasons behind the lack of a serious national dialogue on these topics, and reveal the media's – and the U.S. government’s – roles in perpetuating many Americans’ fear and loathing of Arabs, Muslims and Islam.


Featuring interviews with:

Melani McAlister, Ph.D.
Niall Ferguson, Ph.D.
John Mearsheimer, Ph.D.
Robert Fisk, Ph.D.
Rabbi Ysroel Dovid Weiss
Alan Sharp
Jack Shaheen, Ph.D.
Gore Vidal
Diana Abu Jaber
Albert Mokhiber, Esq.
Anthony Shadid
Stephen Rohde
Tony Shalhoub

and comedic performances by
Maz Jobrani
Aron Kader
Ahmed Ahmed

"Brilliant." (Tamara Sonn, Professor of Humanities, College of William and Mary)
"Stunning...a riveting account.” (Louise Cainkar, Assistant Professor of Social and Cultural Sciences,
Marquette University)