Two filmmakers, Ahmad Hussam & Nick Armero, have made it their mission to get Netflix to stream their original series Salahadin — a show that chronicles the life of the 12th century Muslim leader of the same name.
Salahadin's star, Ahmad Hussam, told BuzzFeed he originally created the project because he was tired of being typecast as a terrorist in every role he auditioned for.
They recently made a video "sneaking" into Netflix headquarters to pitch their show, which caught the attention of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
Hussam says the beginning of the video does, in fact, take place at the Netflix headquarters. After being kicked out of HQ they staged the rest of the video at their studios in Tampa.
Salahadin has raised over $80,000 on KickStarter, but Hussam tells us his goal is to get an in-person interview with Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.
They've even got the support of a slew of Netflix stars.
Hey @netflix this project looks pretty cool! Check it out http://t.co/5az6WaOGe7 #netflixlisten
Hey @netflix folks, these guys have been working their butts off and have a really unique voice. Check them out! https://t.co/QstBWROOkH
Check out this video from @PeaceHouseUS and @Salahadinfilm http://t.co/3vcVMkVM97 and see how many Netflix references you can pick out :)
@SSoumayaNAJIB @OITNB wow, I would be honored to help! I can share on my page and tag @netflix
"This benefits everyone," Hussam says. " Networks choose what we watch, but now we can choose what we want. If thousands of people are demanding this show, networks don't have to worry if it's going to perform well."
"Having Reed Hastings publicly acknowledge us on Facebook was great, but we haven't reached our goal yet."
UPDATE: Netflix tweeted that #NetflixListen will be discussed during an upcoming board meeting!
Hey @PeaceHouseUS, #NetflixListen is on the agenda at today's board meeting. #NetflixListening http://t.co/bIrpLvQ4Q1
BuzzFeed has reached out to Netflix for comment.