‘Elijah’ Tells Story of Belonging and Identity

Directed by Razid Season, “Elijah” is a deeply moving film that captures the inner journey of a teenage girl discovering and embracing her gender identity. Set in New York City, the story revolves around the relationship between an immigrant father and his American-born daughter, creating a powerful drama. The film is raw and realistic and viewers can’t help but be drawn into it emotionally. I saw it play at a recent queer film festival in Boston.

The work follows Elijah, a teenage girl navigating the confusion, fear, and beauty of self-discovery. As she slowly begins to understand her unique self as a transgender person, her reluctance to share these deeply personal emotions with her parents, especially within a traditional family structure, is portrayed with honesty and sensitivity.

Elijah’s father, a traditional yellow cab driver in New York City, faces significant challenges in achieving the American Dream. Capitalistic forces have captured a large share of the taxi market, and he finds himself in a difficult financial position. Despite his hardships, he is depicted as a loving, sensitive, and attentive parent. Director Season does a remarkable job of exploring the mindset of working-class immigrant parents as they come to terms with their child’s reality — a perspective not often seen on screen.

In New York City, nine taxi cab drivers took their own lives between 2018 and 2019 due to the plummeting value of yellow cab taxi medallions. Each medallion had previously been worth several million dollars, but once Uber had been allowed to operate in New York City, medallion values sharply decreased. Individual immigrant cab drivers who were lured by the American Dream found themselves unable to make a profit. The loans were easy to obtain for medallions, and when the value plummeted, many struggled under the burden of life-altering debt after investing in a taxi medallion.

In the film, Elijah’s father lost his best friend to suicide because of the loss of value of his medallion, which broke the father’s heart and willpower. He wrestles with his emotions and struggles to come to terms with the nature of his friend’s death. He wishes he could have done more to prevent his friend’s suicide. At such a devastating time, he finds his only daughter is also in a suicidal state, and that emotional moment becomes the catalyst for change in their relationship. The film explores themes of love, loss, resilience, identity and acceptance. Overall, “Elijah” is an emotionally rich film, leaving a deep impression on viewers. The direction is tender and insightful, the performances are genuine, and the background score enhances every moment with depth and emotion.

The short film is a courageous work in many senses. Mainstream filmmakers’ misrepresentation of minority groups is nothing new. While often the goal of the filmmaker is to manipulate reality or create an escapist fantasy, the lives and identities of real-world underrepresented groups are too often treated like a funhouse display. However, this film represents authentic characters and lacks stereotypes, especially at a time when we see stereotypical portrayals of Asians in Western media.

For more information, see http://www.razidseason.com/1_6_elijah-new-production-2024.html