Maddie Director’s statement
My friends and I witnessed a tragic hit and run accident involving a pedestrian named Miriam in Brooklyn, NY. We were the first to arrive on the scene and call 911, and it was absolutely horrific and the worst thing I had ever seen. At the time, I thought Miriam had died. As Miriam was getting taken away by the paramedics, a group of bystanders starting cheering her on and encouraging her to wake up and be a survivor. It was such a powerful, hopeful moment of solidarity and I began to cry.
A few days later, my colleague Jen and I visited Miriam in the hospital. She was in an induced coma in intensive care, with her mom Priscilla by her side from Minneapolis. Before we had a chance to say anything, Priscilla ran over, embraced us, and cried on our shoulders thanking us for saving her daughter.
During the month after the accident we went back several times to see Miriam. She had in fact survived, but with traumatic brain injuries. She was very friendly to us despite not knowing who we were or the details of what happened to her.
The film explores the questions of what happens after surviving such a tragic accident, and how one finds herself again. I’ve received mixed feedback about the film’s non-linear structure, which was inspired by Memento and Pulp Fiction. I wrote the film this way in order for the audience to better empathize with the main character, Maddie. Whether or not the structure works is ultimately up to you.
A few days after Maddie’s world premiere, I ran into Miriam on my street in Brooklyn. It turns out that Miriam had coincidentally moved to the same exact street as me and I often run into her to this day.