A wide-eyed Iranian immigrant accepts a wedding proposal from her wealthy boss’s son in order to stay in the States. What starts out as a simple green card wedding on Cape Cod is complicated when her two closest friends arrive with their own American boyfriends and cross-cultural baggage in tow.
When Rana’s visa application is denied, she faces the reality of returning home to Iran. That is, until Adam – her wealthy boss’s son and her summer fling – proposes a green card wedding. Wrestling with the implications of his offer, Rana enlists help from a questionable shaman, Adam’s pure-hearted mom, and most importantly her two Iranian best friends Nadia and Setareh, who arrive on Cape Cod for a wedding weekend full of opinions, chaos, and drama with their own American boyfriends. Just as total disaster approaches, the three women come together in a transformative moment of acceptance, growth, and coming of age – evolving this weekend into one that will change them all forever.
Lauren Noll is an L.A. based actor-director from East Tennessee. Her feature directorial debut, SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT, is a female-driven ensemble comedy highlighting three women navigating the tensions of their cross-cultural relationships and the pressures of modern life, friendship, and womanhood. It premiered at SXSW 2026.
Hailing from a rich background in theatre, she earned her master’s degree in Acting at Harvard’s American Repertory Theater and the Moscow Art Theatre before her focus pivoted toward film. Lauren first stepped behind the camera with the short drama HONOR, an intimate, autobiographically inspired story about coming of age, coming out, and facing expulsion from Brigham Young University. She followed this with GEN V, which won a development deal with Adi Shankar’s Bootleg Universe, and CLEAN SLATE, a recipient of the Collaborative Film Challenge Grand Jury Prize and a grant from Blackmagic Design.
Most recently, Lauren co-wrote, produced, and starred in the Oscar Qualified short film, THE HEART OF TEXAS, which screened at more than 75 festivals worldwide and earned Lauren a dozen acting
awards on the festival circuit. Across all of her work, Lauren is drawn to intimate, character-driven stories about ordinary people searching for grace and meaning in chaotic worlds. Her love for actors and their craft is undeniably infused into her directing style. She approaches each project with honesty, humor, and deep compassion, crafting stories that reveal the beauty and hilarity of being human.
World Premiere - SXSW 2026
Writer/Actor - Dalia Rooni
Actor - Medalion Rahimi
Actor - Layla Mohammadi
Actor - Kevin Nealon
Actor - Joey Lauren Adam
