Screenplay 1915 – Armenia

Title: The False Messiah
Written by: Joseph C. Jukic

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Act 1: The Rise of Sabbatai Zvi

Opening Scene:
1666, Salonica (modern Thessaloniki). The bustling streets are alive with the chatter of merchants, the clinking of coins, and the hum of prayer. The camera pans to Sabbatai Zvi, a striking figure with piercing eyes and a commanding presence, addressing a crowd of Jewish followers in the marketplace.

Sabbatai Zvi (to the crowd):
“The time has come! The Messiah walks among you, and I am He. Together, we shall return to Zion, to reclaim the Promised Land.”

Narration (Voiceover):
“Sabbatai Zvi’s proclamation electrified the Jewish world. But beneath his charisma lay a dangerous undercurrent of ambition and secrecy.”

Cut to: A shadowy meeting in a dimly lit room. Emmanuel Carraso, a member of the Salonika Lodge, listens intently to a group of influential figures.

Carraso:
“This man, Zvi, is stirring the hearts of the people. But his delusions of grandeur could destabilize the region. We must observe him closely.”

Young Turk Leader 1:
“And what of our own plans? The Ottoman Empire is weak. The time to act is near.”

Carraso:
“Patience. The Messiah’s rise may serve as a useful distraction.”

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Act 2: The Young Turks and the Armenian Question

Scene: The Salonika Lodge
1908. The camera reveals a secret meeting of the Young Turks, including figures like Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha, and Djemal Pasha. Carraso, now an elder statesman, addresses the group.

Carraso:
“Gentlemen, the empire is crumbling. The Armenians, with their aspirations for independence, are a threat to our unity. If we are to build a modern Turkey, sacrifices must be made.”

Talaat Pasha:
“Sacrifices? You mean eradication.”

Carraso (hesitant):
“Call it what you will. The end justifies the means.”

Enver Pasha:
“And the Jews of Salonica? Will they support us?”

Carraso:
“They will, so long as their businesses and lives remain untouched. Focus on the Armenians.”

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Act 3: The Messiah and the Massacre

Scene: A Parallel Timeline
The story intercuts between Sabbatai Zvi’s rise in the 17th century and the horrors of the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century. Zvi’s followers celebrate his declaration as the Messiah, while Armenians flee their homes, chased by Ottoman soldiers.

Narration (Voiceover):
“The Young Turks, inspired by their vision of a modern, secular Turkey, unleashed a campaign of terror. Meanwhile, the false Messiah’s promises unraveled, as Zvi was forced to convert to Islam under threat of death.”

Cut to: Emmanuel Carraso, in his final days, reflecting on his role in history.

Carraso (to himself):
“I thought I could control the tides of history. But we were all swept away—by ambition, by fear, by the blood we spilled.”

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Act 4: A Reckoning

Scene: A Modern-Day Reflection
The camera shifts to present-day Salonica, where a historian uncovers Carraso’s hidden diaries. The pages reveal his secrets: his involvement in the Young Turks, his complicity in the Armenian Genocide, and his observations of Sabbatai Zvi.

Historian (reading aloud):
“The Messiah was a man, flawed and fallible, just like the rest of us. And we, the so-called architects of a new world, were no better.”

Closing Scene:
The camera pans over the ruins of an Armenian church, the bustling streets of modern Istanbul, and the remnants of Zvi’s synagogue in Salonica. A voiceover concludes:

Narration (Voiceover):
“History is written by the victors, but the truth lingers in the shadows, waiting to be uncovered.”

Fade to Black.
Title Card: “Dedicated to the victims of false prophets and human ambition.”

The End.