Navied Mahdavian

You have to, in order to poke fun at things, to make connections other people can't see. And Mackie, Idaho was perfect for this because everything felt slightly askew, particularly for a city boy like me who knew nothing about farming or ranching. For example, it took me two years to realize that all chaps are in fact assless.

So for the first year, we mostly kept to ourselves, which was easy to do, because technically we were like 20 minutes outside of town, past the farmers for Trump flags and the Make America Great Again welcome sign.

So for the first year, we mostly kept to ourselves, which was easy to do, because technically we were like 20 minutes outside of town, past the farmers for Trump flags and the Make America Great Again welcome sign.

So for the first year, we mostly kept to ourselves, which was easy to do, because technically we were like 20 minutes outside of town, past the farmers for Trump flags and the Make America Great Again welcome sign.

And of course there was the occasional stare that went on too long, which may or may not have been because of the complexion of my skin, and the occasional pointed question like, you're not a Muslim, are you? which was definitely because of the complexion of my skin.

And of course there was the occasional stare that went on too long, which may or may not have been because of the complexion of my skin, and the occasional pointed question like, you're not a Muslim, are you? which was definitely because of the complexion of my skin.

And of course there was the occasional stare that went on too long, which may or may not have been because of the complexion of my skin, and the occasional pointed question like, you're not a Muslim, are you? which was definitely because of the complexion of my skin.

But when we actually made it into town, people were usually really welcoming and they were kind, and we got some of that small-town charm that we had moved there for in the first place. On one of these trips into town, we were buying groceries, stocking up for a couple of weeks, Emily stopped outside of the movie theater in town, and she lingered a little longer than usual.

But when we actually made it into town, people were usually really welcoming and they were kind, and we got some of that small-town charm that we had moved there for in the first place. On one of these trips into town, we were buying groceries, stocking up for a couple of weeks, Emily stopped outside of the movie theater in town, and she lingered a little longer than usual.

But when we actually made it into town, people were usually really welcoming and they were kind, and we got some of that small-town charm that we had moved there for in the first place. On one of these trips into town, we were buying groceries, stocking up for a couple of weeks, Emily stopped outside of the movie theater in town, and she lingered a little longer than usual.

The theater had been closed on and off for like 10 years, and it has this beautiful art deco marquee that's like a homing device, particularly for somebody like Emily, who is a filmmaker. So on this particular day, she drops her groceries, and she has her hands and her face plastered against the glass, and I could almost hear the gears whirring.

The theater had been closed on and off for like 10 years, and it has this beautiful art deco marquee that's like a homing device, particularly for somebody like Emily, who is a filmmaker. So on this particular day, she drops her groceries, and she has her hands and her face plastered against the glass, and I could almost hear the gears whirring.

The theater had been closed on and off for like 10 years, and it has this beautiful art deco marquee that's like a homing device, particularly for somebody like Emily, who is a filmmaker. So on this particular day, she drops her groceries, and she has her hands and her face plastered against the glass, and I could almost hear the gears whirring.

And as my arms are getting increasingly tired, I'm getting increasingly nervous, because if you could imagine a graph where the x-axis is the length of time that Emily spends quietly thinking, and the y-axis is how much trouble we're going to be in, this would have been off the charts. And so as soon as I saw her smile in the reflection, I knew that was that.

And as my arms are getting increasingly tired, I'm getting increasingly nervous, because if you could imagine a graph where the x-axis is the length of time that Emily spends quietly thinking, and the y-axis is how much trouble we're going to be in, this would have been off the charts. And so as soon as I saw her smile in the reflection, I knew that was that.

And as my arms are getting increasingly tired, I'm getting increasingly nervous, because if you could imagine a graph where the x-axis is the length of time that Emily spends quietly thinking, and the y-axis is how much trouble we're going to be in, this would have been off the charts. And so as soon as I saw her smile in the reflection, I knew that was that.

We were going to reopen the movie theater. On the drive home, she explained that this is what we can do for the town. We don't know anything about farming or ranching, but what we do know is movies and art. And now I'm excited at the thought, because if this was going to be our home, we needed some way to give back to the community, to become known entities, real members.

We were going to reopen the movie theater. On the drive home, she explained that this is what we can do for the town. We don't know anything about farming or ranching, but what we do know is movies and art. And now I'm excited at the thought, because if this was going to be our home, we needed some way to give back to the community, to become known entities, real members.

We were going to reopen the movie theater. On the drive home, she explained that this is what we can do for the town. We don't know anything about farming or ranching, but what we do know is movies and art. And now I'm excited at the thought, because if this was going to be our home, we needed some way to give back to the community, to become known entities, real members.

Instead of being that terrorist, which is something somebody had called me, I could instead be that movie theater terrorist. And so we started up an arts council, which allowed us to rent the theater for cheap. We found and refurbished the original 1940s popcorn machine.