Collision- The Film

"Collision" is a short film that illustrates the seemingly random coincidences, or synchronicities, in life that connect strangers through the chance encounters of 3 troubled souls who live in the streets of NYC: a 15-year-old runaway (Malia), a recovering alcoholic (Zeke), and an autistic man (Elias). Their fates and paths will collide on one particularly chaotic day which ends in death, redemption, and self-awareness.
The concept for "Collision" originally grew out of my observations of the city and an awareness of the life force that exists in a dense metropolis such as New York City. I noticed how interconnected people in New York were merely by the fact that they shared spaces in crowded subways and streets. I became fascinated with the different lives around me and how they co-exist. I don't see the city as a cold and unfeeling metropolis, though it can be at times, but rather as an organic whole in which its occupants take care of one another whether they are aware of it or not. There is a strong message of social survival, or interdependence. To quote the Dalai Lama, "Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature. Many of the smallest insects are social beings who, without any religion, law, or education, survive by mutual cooperation based on an innate recognition of their interconnectedness." In addition, I also drew heavily on my own personal history which was filled with much chaos, but which I came out of with a certain sense of inner peace with the help of "strangers" along the way.