ABSTRACT
Tough Crowd is the third film Iman K. Zawahry directed at Florida State and the first film she wrote with Brian Sharpe. Iman explained that the idea came from her own personal experiences, and that she came from a family full of doctors. The stand-off between Rivka and Jihad was one of the first scenes the author thought of. When the author 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. Pushing the envelope became a theme in the process of creating Tough Crowd. For the stand-up routine in Tough Crowd, Iman enlisted the talent of a close childhood friend, Alia Adhal, an American Muslim. Thanks to collaborations, Iman found the process of creating and co-writing Tough Crowd both a joy and success.
