Event

DisOrient 2015 - Elevator

Feature Narrative (2014) 100 min ENGLISH USA
Directed by Bassem Wahbi and Ryo Shiina
Written and Produced by Anthony Ma
Starring Anthony Ma, Kiyomi Fukazawa, Brian Yang, Grant Vee, Nathan Byler, Peter Michael, Rae McIntosh, and Shu Sakimoto

Elevator is a story hovering between coincidental circumstance and twisted fate. The film forcefully brings together two strangers with troubled lives who find solace in each other despite their vastly different backgrounds.
Naomi, a headstrong but fragile expectant mother, leaves her small town in Japan for New York City, with the firm intention of making her high-flying boyfriend her husband.

Upon her arrival she heartbreakingly discovers his lack of commitment to her and his unborn child. Embarrassed and disappointed by her own naivete, and despite her parents' stern warnings, she makes a quick exit, only to find herself stranded in the elevator.

Emotionally drained by her mistakes and seriously doubting her ability to raise a child on her own, Naomi breaks down, to the dismay of Vito, a fast-talking New Yorker with no tolerance for tears, who is stuck in the elevator adjacent to hers.

Like Naomi, the loner Vito is running away from his past mistakes, the most recent being a botched drug deal that left him wounded with two cops hot on his tail. Both are having the worst day of their lives and have no tolerance for one another.

Despite getting off to a rocky start, Naomi and Vito begrudgingly interact and slowly discover in each other what they desperately want: strength and will in Naomi and love and the stability of a family in Vito.

Q&A with Co-Director Ryo Shiina, Writer/Producer/Lead Anthony Ma, Lead Kiyomi Fukazawa, Monica Lam 15 min