In ‘Fireflies,’ exploration of racial profiling following war

By Loren King/Globe Correspondent

The controversy ignited by President Trump’s attempts at banning travelers from several largely Muslim countries provides a dramatic and timely context for Holliston filmmaker Raouf Zaki’s “Fireflies.”

The 17-minute film is about a withdrawn Middle Eastern man named Marwan (Essam Ferris) who frequents a Boston café. Flashbacks to his experiences in Aleppo, Syria, contrast with Marwan’s interactions with the café’s head waiter and its other patrons who view him with suspicion.