Towelhead

Towelhead exists in another land of movies. It's a coming of age film about a high school femme but she's also being sexually abused by her neighbor, disrespected by her classmates and treated like dirt by her father. While serious, the film as directed by Alan Ball (whose credits include writing American Beauty and creating the HBO series Six Feet Under) finds a sly layer of humor that belies the tranquil suburban setting of its characters (in this case a clever depiction of Houston).
Summer Bishil plays lead character Jasira Maroun with a vengeance. Her mom (Maria Bello) has sent her to live with her father (Peter Macdissi) in Houston. Though the parents are long divorced mom bears a slight grudge because she put dad through college and now he's making lots of money as an engineer in Space City. Dad has a chip on his shoulder because due to his Middle Eastern ancestry his neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) thinks he's a Saddam lover. The story takes place in the early 90s during the first Gulf war.
Dad has a hot girlfriend but chides his daughter when she tries to express her femininity. Jasira tries to fit in at high school but even a black student calls her a sand nigger. Rightfully, he honestly apologizes and becomes her first real lover. That's after Eckhart, channeling a scary redneck, has molested Jasira. She finds some solace with neighbors (Matt Letscher and Toni Collette) who are the only compassionate and intelligent people in the film.
Towelhead is based on the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian. When the film played at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007 the title was Nothing is Private. Ball mines the pathos of middle class values and the cast is excellent down the line. Towelhead isn't purposely perverse like Choke but it has some strong points to make about equality and discrimination. Points it makes with the gloves removed.