ABSTRACT
A unique character, yet universal. “ Making the fi lm with my background in mind, I knew the audience
would connect with Jihad’s plight because every family has strong aspirations for their loved ones, and in turn, the loved ones are forced to make the hard choice, ” Iman said. “ And when I approached Brian with the logline for Tough Crowd , he was immediately excited. We discussed the idea and story in detail by phone, e-mail, and text messages. I would come up with small scenarios and ideas, and Brian would write and connect the pieces together. The standoff between Rivka and Jihad was one of the fi rst scenes I thought of before we began writing the fi lm. When I sent the idea to Brian, he quickly created the scenario where Rivka would stack the audience with Jewish characters to toughen Jihad’s plight. Ideas such as these helped facilitate a more meaningful plot and helped to create a stronger story.
