A Hollywood film starring former Bahrain student Summer Bishil is due for release later this year.

Towelhead is based on a novel by Alicia Erian and tells the story of a young Arab-American girl set to a backdrop of the 1990 Gulf War.

Bishil, 20, will appear alongside big names such as Aaron Eckhart and Toni Collette in the film slated for release by September.

The former British School of Bahrain and Bahrain School pupil is the daughter of Saudi father Mohammed and American mother Delie. She moved to Bahrain at the age of four and lived here for 10 years, appearing in several British School drama productions.

She now lives with her mother and brother Skylar in California, US. Her sister Sunshine also lives in the US.

She plays a 13-year-old Arab girl Jasira in the film, who is sent to live with her strict Lebanese father in Texas during the Gulf War.

However, she has already made a name for herself appearing in US children's programmes Hannah Montana and Josh and Drake - recently being chosen by Variety as one of the 10 upcoming actresses to watch out for.

Ms Bishil has completed filming her second major movie - Wayne Kramer's new project Crossing Over, in which she appears opposite big names including Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd.

One of her former teachers at the British School of Bahrain, Eibhlin Crosse, said she was thrilled to see Ms Bishil hitting the headlines.

'She was a wonderful student and a pleasure to have in the classroom,' she said. 'She's such a beautiful girl and I wish her every success.'-TradeArabia News Service