It wasn’t until a number of days ago that producers could pull the trigger on buying Syrian refugee Hala Kamil's ticket to the States for the 89th annual Academy Awards. Kamil is the star of Watani: My Homeland , the epic story of one family’s escape from war-torn Syria and their attempt to make a new life in Germany. The short film is nominated for Best Short Documentary, and projected to take the Oscar. However, President Trump's temporary travel ban nearly put a wrench in her attendance at this Sunday's awards show, which also put what Kamil would wear on the red carpet on pause. Watani was nominated on a Tuesday morning, and that Friday, the travel ban was enacted. According to one of the film's representatives, Hayley Pappas, the special moment was "a flurry of media and celebration," until the ban hit. "When the film was nominated, Hala was in the states in New York for a separate awards ceremony with the film's director, Marcel Mettelsiefen. By chance, she flew back [to her country] on that Thursday, the literal night before," Pappas recanted to Refinery29. And due to the rumors of possibly another ban, Kamil and the team remained in a state of limbo. "Even today, everyone's walking on eggshells, hoping everything goes smoothly." Upon booking her return flight, Kamil found an image of a dress she wanted online. But due to several hurdles, no one was able to create something that both satisfied Kamil's stylistic ideas and in such a tight timeframe. The search grew from thrilling to frantic. "Along with the quick turnaround, the fact that Kamil is a practicing Muslim and requires modest dressing made the search for a designer that much more difficult. We needed a dress that would cover everything, along with a hijab she'd wear with it," Pappas explained. "And since she's probably the only Syrian refugee woman on the red carpet, she wanted to wear something that sent a specific message." Kamil didn't want to look "stereotypical" or "extremist" in a any way, but envisioned her moment on the carpet as one that sent a progressive message, all while being "glamorous" and "elegant" at the same time. "She’s a strong and independent woman, so that was important to her: to be relatable, as she’s a mother of four and just happens to wear a hijab — that’s it," Pappas said.