Possible Final Idea

I have thoroughly been reconsidering my idea and have decided that the story will no longer be of an exaggerated, fictional world but an actual telling of a fictional story that occurred during the ban. Like my previous project, I want to focus on the power of art and how it could influence movements.

MY CHARACTER: An Iraqi young artist newly arrives in Miami. A focus of the beginning of the film will be his loneliness: he is surprised and awed by everything he encounters. Despite living in a beautiful setting, he is still alone and lost.

THEN, the ban is instituted and he is separated from his family. His family can no longer follow him to the United States: this will be shown through attempts at contacting them (a focus on social media).

HIS REBELLION: The character begins an art reform movement. He begins to draw various visuals of what he has encountered back home: his drawings elicit a humanitarian cry for help. His art will then be posted on a database where everyone can contribute. Slowly, people begin contributing and his reform movement grows. He protests heavily and meets with individuals who are willing to share their art. A specific scene I want to include is him mailing a package of all of the reform art to the White House, where a man (in another clip, representing the White House) is shown to be burning the art, which clearly details the troubles and poverty of the Middle Eastern people. When the ban becomes exempt for Iraqis, my character still continues to fight. "We will not fail" But the real question is: does this work? Does it prevail? How far will he go? How worse is it going to become?

MESSAGE: I initially wanted my message to be of "this could become much worse", equating it to fascism; yet, the message of resistance through art, in my opinion, is stronger and more feasible for me. The extreme measures of the ban (like a concentration camp or an underground illegal system against Arabs) is too controversial and unappealing to market. Yet, showing a relentless resistance of the people against an incredibly strong government sends a similar message: it does not guarantee freedom and liberty. The whole purpose of this film is to narrate specifically my character's intense journey through resistance and a main purpose of retrieving his family. Yet, as it progresses, the campaign grows into him: his courage and drive is especially revealed when he still continues to fight when the ban is exempt from Iraq. This story is an empathetic story detailing the hardships someone undergoes because of the ban and a separation between loved ones that sparks a movement within him. The best art movement is created as a reception and criticism to an ongoing issue.