EXCLUSIVE: Wayfarer Studios, Familiar Stranger and Amanat Films have set coming-of-age feature drama The Alchemy of Being Okay with Yasmeen Fletcher (Ms. Marvel), alongside Cherien Dabis (All That’s Left Of You, Mo, Fallout), Ibrahim Renno (The Chosen, Law and Order: Organized Crime), Abubakr Ali (Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, House of Dynamite), Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy, The Offer) and Abby Elliott (All Her Fault, The Bear).
In the aftermath of a tragedy, 17-year-old Nora (Fletcher) is desperate to escape her Midwestern life for college and the promise of New York City. As her mother Amina (Dabis) struggles to keep the family together and her father, Bassam (Renno), a gifted writer, battles demons of his own, Nora is pulled between charming classmate Qas (Ali), Mac (Chambers), an enigmatic friend of her father’s, and the teacher (Elliott) who once encouraged her writing. But as grief, family pressures and an impulsive decision collide, her carefully imagined future begins to unravel.
The project reps the feature directorial debut of Detroit native Sarah Mokh who is helming off her screenplay. She developed the original script in the 2024 Sundance Screenwriter’s Intensive and the 2024 Sundance x Disney Artist Accelerator Fellowship under the title Diary of a Muslim Cynic. The script also received support from the 2024 Gotham Week Project Market and the Hamptons International Film Festival Screenwriting Lab. The film expands on her short film debut, Cigarettes, which premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. Mokh is a graduate of Harvard University and a PhD candidate at NYU.
The film is produced by Ahmed Musiol Kolacek for Familiar Stranger, Abubakar Khan for Amanat Films, and Justin Baldoni and Andrew Calof for Wayfarer Studios. Steve Sarowitz, Jamey Heath, Angela Cardon and John Logan Pierson executive produced for Wayfarer Studios, alongside Kyle Behling. Wayfarer Studios financed the film, and UTA Independent Film Group is representing the film for domestic sales.
“The film grew out of questions I was asking myself in my early twenties about fate, responsibility, grief and whether the contours of a life are inevitable,” said Mokh. “I wanted to explore those questions through a coming-of-age story about a girl whose existential inquiries are inseparable from her anxiety about the state of the world and her inner sadness. Like, ‘is there something wrong with me, am I crazy, or is it AI and climate change or is it a family curse?’ I wanted to write a film that centered big, theological questions but was also youthful and current and honest.”
“Sarah has an extraordinary confidence and courage as a filmmaker to trust the complexity of her characters,” said Kolacek. “She allows Nora to be brilliant yet frustrating, funny yet deeply wounded, certain yet completely lost. Supporting her as she brings the ensemble to life with this exceptional cast has been incredibly rewarding, as they have uncovered so much more depth and humanity to this story than we ever could have imagined. As a filmmaker, you are always looking for that special project that feels both deeply personal and genuinely distinctive; The Alchemy of Being Okay is one of those rare films that will connect just as deeply with discerning cinephiles as it will with anyone who has ever struggled to find their way through grief and uncertainty.”
“Sarah wrote an incredibly relatable and compelling story about grief, first love and figuring out who you’re going to be, told through a distinctly diasporic lens,” said Khan. “Through my work helping bring The Glassworker and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother to audiences, I saw that our community isn’t the ceiling of an audience. It’s where the audience starts. That’s why I want to make stories that are deeply rooted in our experiences and still have the power to travel far beyond them. The Alchemy of Being Okay is one of them”.
“Wayfarer is committed to championing emerging filmmakers with distinctive voices,” said Jamey Heath, Executive Producer and CEO of Wayfarer Studios. “Sarah is exactly that kind of filmmaker. The Alchemy of Being Okay takes an intimate and deeply personal look at grief, family and the complicated journey of growing up. We’re proud to support Sarah’s vision and bring this remarkable film to audiences.”
Mokh is represented by Simon Hurdon at Curate. Yasmeen Fletcher is represented by Authentic Talent and Literary Management, Play Management and The Gersh Agency. Dabis is represented by CAA, Strand Entertainment and Peikoff Mahan. Ali is represented by Gersh, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman. Renno is represented by Venture Entertainment Partners. Chambers is represented by Gersh, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Elliott is represented by Paradigm and OPE Partners.