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Director Statement

This story came to me as I was considering society’s expectations of gender roles in a heterosexual relationship. Max and Marie are a strong and loving couple – they think of themselves as independent, modern, progressive. When they are attacked by two strangers in the elevator, Max, an upper middle-class, successful man, who always thought of himself as the provider, fails to protect Marie in that small but crucial moment.

This short film triggered many contrasted reactions in test screenings – some of outrage, others of empathy, sometimes even fear: “What if I did that?” some worried male friends confided in me. And of course, there were differing opinions on whether it’s a man’s duty to protect a woman, or not. The key question to consider is: if Marie had left Max alone, would your reaction be the same? Would you forgive her more because she’s a woman?

My take is: we should not be so quick to condemn Max. He regrets his ‘decision’ the second he is outside of the elevator, and would have gone back in if the door hadn’t shut. I’ve been in public situations where someone was in danger and a group of men coolly walked away, pretending they didn’t see, not turning back once. That’s a decision, not a reaction. I hope this short will also prompt viewers to examine their behavior when faced with danger – what can you do, what should you do? And that it will ask a troubling question: fight-or-flight response a survival instinct, or revelatory of deeper human nature?

Finally, I’ve always carried with me an acute fear of losing someone – probably because I have in the past – sometimes at an irrational level. I was glad to find a scenario where I could let this fear play out as intensely as in my imagination, thanks to Federico Rodriguez’s visceral performance.