Endurance

2018, 18 minutes

A once-championed cyclist struggles immensely with a partial disability in her legs. One floor above her, a closeted football player contemplates taking his own life. What happens when the lives of these two students fatefully collide?

Jenna’s bike veers around a sharp corner—she is scores ahead of her competitors. Hands firmly gripping the handlebars, eyes squinting through the blazing sun, the finish line in sight. She’s so close. She’s about to win. Ten more feet, nine more feet… BEEP! Jenna opens her sleepy eyes to her flashing alarm clock. Laying calmly in bed, the world feels still and quiet…but only for a moment. The tears come right on cue as they always do. Jenna moans as her arms achingly throw her legs onto the floor and then push her up and into her wheelchair. Another excruciating day begins. In the men’s locker room, Max runs his hands through his teammate’s thick hair. He grabs his waist and pulls him close. His lips move closer and closer… “HAHAHAHA.” Four teammates emerge from around the bend, erupting in laughter. Max’s partner abruptly steps back and joins in on the “humor.” He looks at Max one last time, mouthing the word, “fag.” Now, watching the recorded incident on his phone, Max struggles to get through another day. Although they live right next to one another, Max and Jenna have been grappling with their issues separately for a long time, completely ignorant to each other’s plight—that is, until one day, when they both witness tiny glimpses of the other’s struggle firsthand. How much of an impact can this minuscule interaction have? The absolute greatest imaginable. One thing leads to another, and before she knows it, Jenna must use all her physical strength to stop Max from pulling the trigger. Max, on the other hand, must use all his mental strength to remember why life is worth living.



Connected mandy members:

Christian Szczepanski
Cinematographer
Cinematographer