Parity Pipeline

Genre

Synopsis

In 1996, Raffael, a young, divorced father, falls into a deep depression and tries to commit suicide. Following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, and a chance encounter with a pile of discarded screws in the hospital courtyard, he decides to construct his own “missing screw.” He enlists the help of a sculptor friend, and over the next six months, he meticulously crafts a 10-foot screw while documenting the process with a found video camera. Upon completing his project and recognizing the act of creation has helped him navigate his depression, Raffael leaves the hospital and vows to live as an artist and travel around the world with his screw. With no money and only a vague plan, Raffael leaves his son behind and embarks on his ambitious journey. He plans to take his screw to Dachau, Germany to the concentration camp where his father and grandfather were both interned. Then he will take it to Paris to Van Gogh’s grave and from there, he plans to sail to New York to create a confrontation at the Guggenheim Museum. Finally, he will travel to India, to rest the screw in the waters of the Ganges River and let it go. But things get complicated when Raffael’s son, feels abandoned and refuses to get out of bed. Should Raffael relinquish his vow and return to his son? Must he choose between the artistic life keeping him sane and fatherhood? “My Missing Screw” is a deeply moving exploration of mental illness and the power of art and family.