died suddenly on June 1 at age 52 — took a part in, of all things, a 16-minute student flick by a senior filmmaker at the University of Michigan late last year. “He was kind of like a mentor,” its director and co-writer, 22-year-old Mohamed Khashafa, exclusively told The Post about the project, which is titled “Ya Satir.” “He was telling me that a lot of the reason that he wanted to be a part of the project was to kind of help out the next generation of Arab creatives,” Khashafa said, recalling that Batayeh told him that Hollywood “wasn’t very diverse or welcoming” to the community.In an early cut of the movie previewed by The Post, Batayeh plays the father of a high school student (portrayed by fellow student Izabella Mins-Haddad) who is experiencing growing pains while preparing for a debate competition before heading off to college.And even though Michigan resident Batayeh’s single scene in the movie — which wrapped production in late December — is a mere two minutes long, his portrayal meant the world to Khashafa, whose family is from Yemen.“It really hit my heart that the role kind of reminded him of his own father. Actors pull from personal life or from different characters they already know,” said Khashafa, 22, who said the “lighthearted coming of age” film’s title roughly translates to “Oh, Lord” or “Oh, My God.”“He pulled from his own father, which, one, makes me feel good because it means I wrote the character properly,” continued Khashafa, who plans to graduate from the school next December.
