Today I'll be creating and finalizing my cast that I plan to include in my film opening! After creating my script and storyboard I have a good idea of who will first be introduced in the film. In the opening, my cast plays a significant role as I want to show representation of the south Asian culture. In this cast list I will strive to create character profiles for each of the cast and give a background to get a better understanding of what props and clothing I should use to communicate the characters better to my audience.
Cast
Zara Syed (Protagonist)- She is sixteen years old, born American US citizen in Florida, meanwhile her parents are from Pakistan. Because of her upbringing, Zara feels a sense of responsibility in doing what her parents always wanted and expected from her academically and religiousily . Zara is a lover girl at heart and wishes to find her "knight in shining armor" one day highlighting her as idealistic. In the film opening she is seen as naive, yet mature as her family and culture reinforces the idea of the "perfect daughter". Some interests of the character include her love of art ever since she was little and finds joy in adding new fashion statements to her wardrobe.
The purpose of this characterization of Zara is to relate with other south asian girl teens and young audiences that grew up with the same upbringing. Through her character she highlights the pressure, deep desires, and fears of many brown girls like myself who love and respect their family but wish to explore and be themselves without being a "disappointment".
Noah Mendoza (Deuteragonist)- He is seventeen years old, born in America and comes from a background of immigrants from Venezuela. Noah's upbringing unlike Zara's is very different as their cultures, and expectations are different. He grew up family oriented and with leniency making him very open and genuine to his parents, friends and partners. He's loyal, values quality time and communication. He loves to play the guitar and is apart of his high school's soccer team.
Noah's character is used to contrast and emphasize the differences between each others family and set the stage for later problems and conflicts that may arise between the both of them later in the film. His family's flexibility and openness have made his grow up to think things will be okay in the end which is different from Zara's. It depicts two different worlds and perspectives that two people may carry in a relationship.
Kiran Syed (Mom of Zara Syed)- In her 40's and grew up in Pakistan and moved to the United States when she was 14. Growing up here not only made her feel confident in her faith and culture but made her fear some aspects of society through her own personal experiences. This lead her to raise Zara in a more sheltered environment as she worried about societies influences on her daughter. She too pushed Zara to work hard at school and supported her interests since she was little. She work as a nurse at a clinic.
Ahmed Syed (Dad of Zara Syed)- In his mid 40's and also grew up in Pakistan and moved to the US when he was 19. He studied hard at University to become a doctor. Growing up, his life had been more traditional so respecting elders is an important value of his making him assertive and more authoritative in the way he parents Zara. He wants the best for her financially and academically so that she can earn the same opportunities he did.
Both the parents' character shows their deep love and admiration for their daughter. It also shows how their "strictness" is mainly from their fears of society after moving and hope Zara doesn't fall into one of its ideologies. It also highlights the pressure that they may be indirectly putting on Zara to be perfect, a common problem in south asian culture.
Reflection
While making this cast, it was able to give me better direction of how my actors should act and give background to their behaviors. By making this list I was able to better organize my thoughts and characters, this way I can create more meaning.
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