(CNN) -- When Ahmed Ahmed, an Egyptian-American stand-up comic, started doing comedy tours of the Middle East his friends in the U.S. assumed he was performing at military bases. "They were surprised to learn that I was performing for Arabs, that they understood English and that people actually laughed," said Ahmed. His frustration at the response from his fellow Americans prompted Ahmed to make a documentary film called "Just Like Us" about comedy in the Middle East. Ahmed, 40, said he wanted to challenge the American misconception that Arabs have no sense of humor. The film follows Ahmed and fellow comedians on a tour taking in Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
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"Just Like Us" follows a comedy tour of Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Dubai
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Comedian Ahmed Ahmed said he wanted to show Americans how similar Arab humor is to their own
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Stand-up comedy is relatively new and fast-growing in the Middle East, said Ahmed
The theme of the film is that Arab sense of humor is just like that of @placeholder, although there were some differences in the expectations of audiences.
"Every @placeholder country I've visited had a big sense of humor.