A teen-age runaway meets a lonely artist in an abandoned NYC subway station. The year is 1999 and the artist, who is painting an underground mural, asks the runaway to pose for her. Gradually, their personal stories unfold as the mural comes to life. The teen, daughter of an abusive father, opens up about the violence that has shaped her life. The artist, an immigrant from an Eastern bloc country, revisits her assimilation into American ways, and memorializes her recently-deceased father through her art. Their friendship helps them come to terms with their choices and those of their families.
Everlasting Misfortune (my title) takes place in New York City’s East Village, in the subway tunnels, and in Upper Manhattan. It draws on themes of #MeToo, disabilities, and touches on choices immigrants must make. But it is foremost the story of two females who meet, create a work of art underground, and change each other’s lives.