The Farewell Party
Attending what they believe to be a farewell party, a group of friends discover the host has been diagnosed with an incurable disease and plans to take his own life at the end of the night, unless they can convince him not to.
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I like the idea, because it creates a tense and interesting environment and could be shot within few locations. It’s a feasible yet promising proposal.
As asked above, who is the protagonist: the suicidal host or one of the guests? For my 2.5 cents worth, I would consider making the suicidal host the protagonist. Richer, more complex, and deeper psychological material and issues to explore.
And as suggested, I would consider reframing the stakes by having him resolved to commit suicide for reasons other than he’s doomed to die soon anyway. Perhaps the ostensible reason could be existential (philosophical despair: life is meaningless); or clinical depression; or because of impending financial ruin, bankruptcy; or because of an accident that has reduced a vibrant, active man (or woman) to an incontinent, impotent paraplegic.
Or all four.
First off, there is weak protagonist identification here. “A group of friends” tells us little about the characters we should be rooting for to succeed. This might work in a slasher film, but probably not the best approach in a character piece. I’d focus on the leader of the group (the one you spend the most time with, or the one with the most to lose if the host commits suicide) and build your logline around him/her. The stakes also seem pretty low here. The host has been diagnosed with an incurable (and presumably fatal) disease. What if they can’t convince him to commit suicide? He dies in a few weeks, anyway. You need to find a way to ramp up the stakes. Has he not told his family? Does he have important things left to do? This also sounds like a movie that is all talk. Maybe try to think of ways that can dramatize this more. Instead of having to “convince him”, maybe have them “stop him” or “prevent him”. At least then there is the opportunity for action. Good luck!