7 x 7 x 7 (7 times 7 times 7)

Description

Our story follows Sara, a nurse who is six months removed from the loss of her only son in a hit-and-run. After months of unsuccessfully finding those responsible, she returns to work. But after an emotionally draining day, she falls asleep on the bus ride home. Sara is awoken abruptly by another passenger, a young runaway named Mari, and she realises their late-night bus has broken down far in the countryside. To make matters worse, the driver has disappeared, and another passenger, Darren, is unconscious in the back of the bus due to a stab wound. While confused about how they all got there, Sarah is still determined to get them all back to safety. But these three strangers are connected by the same person and event that has caused Sarah so much pain. And her barely closed emotional wounds will have to be ripped open for her to get them off that bus and ultimately for her to finally have closure in this tumultuous period of her life.

Biblical Connection

I am adapting my story from the themes of the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13, particularly verses 11 to 13. For Sarah, she needs inner strength (or daily bread in verse 11) to help her get through the day as she struggles to cope with the loss of her son. Darren is dealing with the guilt of being partly responsible for the death of Sarah's son, as he wants God and those he has hurt to "Forgive us his debts" verse 12. And Mari, as her possessive brother, Barnes, abuses her, wants "the deliverance from evil", so she decides to run away to find someone who will care for her. And for Barnes, who was driving the hit-and-run car, he tries to fight the temptation (and lead us not into temptation in verse 13) of going further down the dark path of not seeking forgiveness for his actions. But he ultimately fails. Jesus' famous prayer is an excellent opportunity to make a film that explores the emotional and physical pain people are suffering every day and gives a lens to view the complicated process of grief, guilt, mistreatment and forgiveness that I want to convey with this project.