Between Floors is a 2009 American award winning independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 that is currently making its way through the festival circuit which was produced and directed by Jen White and executive produced by Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, co-founder of Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror,...

Plot

Between Floors examines the human condition through a uniquely claustrophobic lens, inter-cutting between five stuck elevators and the people trapped inside them. Each elevator becomes an existential purgatory, forcing its occupants to not only confront their isolation, but themselves and each other in varied and unexpected ways.

Taking place entirely in five elevators, Between Floors is as unusual as it is arresting, blurring the lines of genre, tone and form while its characters are stripped bare – trapped, alone, waiting – and we get to watch what happens.

Production

The film was edited from hour-long, structured improvisations, shot in working elevators. Each scene plays out in a single shot, with the only editing being from scene to scene.

Reception

The reception for the movie has been largely positive. Jen White won best director in the 2009 Atlanta Underground Film Festival and the 2010 Strasbourg International Film Festival in Strasbourg France. The movie has won best feature film at the 2010 Magnolia Film Festival with praise given to the high quality of the acting of the cast, and is a great "watch with a crowd" film. Between Floors also won best narrative feature at the Hardacre Film Festival

Hardacre film festival

The Hardacre Film Festival is Iowa's longest-running film festival. Based in Tipton, Iowa, the festival is held annually in the city's historic Hardacre Theater...

 and the 2010 Salem Film Festival in Salem Oregon. Between Floors has also been featured in the Boston Film Festival

Boston Film Festival

Boston Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September....

, The San Francisco Women's Film Festival, and screened during the 2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers