Set against the backdrop of the Gulf War in 1991, 'Towelhead' follows the story of Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl grappling with her tumultuous adolescence. Uprooted from her mother's home due to inappropriate attention from her mother's boyfriend, Jasira is sent to Houston, Texas, to live with her strict and emotionally distant father. Amidst the hostility she faces as a 'towelhead,' Jasira's personal struggles amplify as she encounters the complexities of her awakening sexuality, parental neglect, and prejudice. The allure of affection leads her into the troubling orbit of Mr. Vuoso, a neighboring army reservist. 'Towelhead' weaves a poignant narrative of a young girl's search for identity and belonging in a world that often seems void of both.