Ibrahim

Ibrahim, a young Syrian refugee in his early 20s, is just trying to make the most of his new life in America. Despite being in America for the past three years, Ibrahim still deals with his father's never-ending grievances about going back home. Everything in the house reminds him of home: the news, the boxes of expensive kitchenware that his father want to bring back to Syria, the gifts for family overseas. All Ibrahim wants? A normal life, just like any other kid his age.

  • Lynn Churbaji
    Director
  • Lynn Churbaji
    Writer
  • Rebecka Bethel
    Producer
  • Maria Gonzalez
    Producer
  • Luke Park
    Director of Photography
  • Jacobi Copeland
    Editor
  • Jack Louis
    Editor
  • Amjad Al Ali
    Key Cast
    "Ibrahim"
  • Fady Kerko
    Key Cast
    "Waleed"
  • Mohammed Fahmy
    Key Cast
    "Brother Ahmad"
  • Yaadanii Abajobir
    Key Cast
    "Amal"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ابراهيم
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 41 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 16, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    6,432 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Arri Classic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Savannah College of Art and Design
Director Biography - Lynn Churbaji

Lynn is a graduating Senior Film and Television student
at SCAD Atlanta. She is a director and writer,
with experience in directing documentaries
such as “Octavian”, and co-writing short films
such as “Eyes of A Child.” Lynn is writing and
directing “Ibrahim” as an ode to her own
family and friends who live as refugees and immigrants today.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Inspired by the story of my mother's family friend Safa and her son, “Ibrahim” is the story of a family of Syrian refugees who are new to America and the struggles they face as they learn to accept that their new home isn’t just a temporary fix. I wish to convey a story that I believe very few people are aware of, but one that almost 100 million refugees around the world can relate to.

With family of my own that live around the world as asylum seekers, this story hits close to home. Many of the characters within the film are inspired by family and friends who, to this day, still choose to convince themselves that they will be going back home to Syria in the near future. They talk about how they want to renovate their houses when they get back home, they collect expensive American products to show off, and gather gifts with anything relatively American on them to give to their families. Very few refugees ever admit they are really refugees. “We’re just here until things cool down back home.” Even worse, some refugees give up their freedom and go back to their war-torn countries, despite the chaos.

This mindset always confused me. Selfishly, I used to think they should’ve been more grateful to have a safe place to seek refuge. Why would you so badly want to leave a place that provides so much more than home ever did? Then I realized I had answered my own question. Home. These war-torn countries are home to these people, just like America is home to me. They had whole entire lives that they were forced to leave behind. Bonds that were unwillingly broken. People and places they loved.

If there is one thing I want audiences to take away from this film, it’s the importance of cherishing what you have. When escaping their countries, many refugees stop just short of the edge of death, and even then, they still dream of going back. Emily Dickinson says “Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.” It’s a ceaseless sense of hope that may seem selfish. To me, however, it seems only natural. I have Safa and her son to thank for teaching me that.