Between East

Co-Founded by Alexina Atin Shaber, Between East is a cultural consulting and entertainment company diversifying the range and perception of Middle Eastern & North African people worldwide.

With a special emphasis on positive impact narratives of women, we celebrate the contributions these women make within their communities and industries.

We are a bridge between cultures, honoring the complexities and humanity of people from the MENA regions or diaspora.

Image: Sarah Bahbah ‘3eib!’ collection

Our Collective

  • Community Matters.

    From LA to NYC, we host park hangs for our community to build bonds, share bites, and grow their networks to help make the diaspora feel a little more like home.

  • Production & Development.

    We’re storytellers by trade and we know that some of the most impactful stories are those in TV and film. We want to help shape those narratives. Our creative development and production studio enables opportunities for MENA writers, creators, artists, and actors to create stories that diversify our culture in entertainment and the media.

  • Inspire Change.

    Our digital community @betweeneast focuses on stories of MENA women as they have been the most often underestimated and undervalued for their incredible contributions and work. We feature leaders, creators, and change-makers to create a space where MENA women are inspired, connected, and valued worldwide.

  • Cultural Consulting.

    To tell humanizing and inspiring stories that more accurately represent MENA people, we consult on TV/film and other projects that reflect our culture. We work on characters/narratives for an overall project, episode, or particular scenes, as well as partner with brands looking to integrate MENA talent and culture into their projects.

Follow our journey.

 
Dima Adra is a Lebanese cook and cookbook author. Growing up, Dima was following what she thought to be a recipe for success. After high school in Saudi, she moved to Montreal to attend Concordia University to study marketing, which she ended up comp
Saj Issa is a Palestinian American multidisciplinary artist. Saj was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri to immigrant parents and spent her summers in Palestine where she experienced the occupation first hand. In response, Saj used her art to rein
Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh is an Iranian-American occupational therapist, educator, and community organizer, born and raised in LA by her Iranian father and a Black mother. Her father immigrated to the U.S during the Iranian revolution with a dream of be
Rana Abdelhamid is an Egyptian American community organizer, activist, and non-profit leader. She grew up in Astoria, Queens and watched her father, who owned and operated a neighborhood deli that he loved, struggle to take on a second job to pay the
Adra Kandil is a Lebanese visual artist and communications designer known as Dear Nostalgia. Her artistic inclination began on a trip to Barcelona where she received her undergraduate degree in Creative Advertising & Branding at IED Barcelona, fo
Thuraya Zeidan is a Palestinian American educator and activist. Born in Jerusalem, in occupied Palestine, she and her family sought refuge in New Jersey. She grew up in the US most of her life, attending Montclair State University for her undergradua
Persis Karim is an Iranian/French-American poet, editor, and professor and director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Growing up in the Bay Area in the 1960s, Persis was surrounded by very few Irania
A note by our female founders @lenakhouri and @alexinaatin: The idea of Between East began as a passion project between soul sisters that ignited a sense of purpose in us unlike anything else we’ve done. We started simple - an Insta community t
Luma Mufleh is a Syrian/Jordanian entrepreneur, coach, and thought leader in refugee and English Language Learner education. The daughter and granddaughter of Syrian refugees, Luma grew up in Amman, Jordan, where she was one of the only Arab students
Amelia Hadouchi is an Algerian-Canadian artist. Amelia’s upbringing felt truly harmonious - her parents immigrated to Canada with an open mind and she felt that during her childhood. While growing up between two cultures, Amelia was gratef
Tala Bashmi is a Bahraini chef and restaurant owner. Growing up, Tala learned the history of Middle Eastern cuisine and her cultural identity from her father through his knowledge behind the ingredients he used. This knowledge quickly turned into a p
Tamara Dhia is an Iraqi-American TV host, actress, writer and producer. Tamara was born in Iraq and relocated to the states as a young child. From an early age, she leaned towards the creative arts but like many other Middle Eastern kids she was enco
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