Summer Bishil

After small and generally unremarkable roles in such productions as the Disney Channel made-for-cable movie Return to Halloweentown (2006), actress Summer Bishil revealed the extent of her abilities via a complex, demanding, and multifaceted lead portrayal in screenwriter Alan Ball's contemporary drama Towelhead (2007). The film -- adapted from the controversial best-selling novel of the same name by Alicia Erian -- observes the tumultuous events that befall a young Arab-American teen on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq (heading into the Gulf War) -- including confrontations with racism, hypocrisy, and mistrust.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide