Parallel Lines

Director: Nina Davenport

Length: 98 minutes 
Released: 2004

Nina Davenport, a New Yorker displaced to California for work, finds herself homesick and deeply saddened on September 11, 2001.  Several months later, when it is time to return to New York, she decides not to fly, but instead to drive.  As she’s a filmmaker, she decides to document the journey with her videocamera strapped to various parts of her rental car. 

Her adventure takes her across the southern United States during the three-week window she has before she must be in New York.  Her inquisitive nature makes her stop anyone she comes across to ask questions and opinions.  Her lack of enthusiasm to get home encourages her to follow small roads and intriguing signs, which leads to an 8000-mile journey.  The initial premise is to document reactions to the terrorist attacks, but she discovers that New York is a distant place from small town America, and everyone has a story of hardship and sacrifice.      

Davenport uses post-production voice-over to tell her story and narrate her emotions and concerns.  Her camera becomes her fellow passenger, strapped onto the seat beside her, on the dashboard and even on the roof of her car (which causes a problem in Washington, D.C., in the new, post-9/11 world of heightened security).    

One of Davenport’s major concerns throughout the film is the new view from her apartment window in New York, now void of the twin towers.  Through listening to other people’s stories, she begins the process towards acceptance.  When she does arrive back home, she carries with her an invisible support group.  

Not everyone has Davenport’s persistence, but we are all rewarded because of her efforts.  The film is thoroughly captivating: you feel part of the journey.  You know neither you nor Davenport will ever likely see the people she met again, which makes the encounters all the more bittersweet and profound.  The people presented in the film may not have an emotional attachment to New York, but they represent what it means to be American, which is what Davenport realized was the true story she wanted to tell and needed to hear herself.  

The film was shown at a range of festivals throughout the world.
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