The Long-Term Side Effect
Lei Kelly is a survivor of pancreatic cancer. She was diagnosed at age 22 and part of an experimental treatment that cured her, but caused a strange side effect: Lei has completely stopped aging. Now 40 years old, Lei still appears 22, suffering from acne and often mistaken as her teenage daughter’s sister. Having spent the last 18 years obsessing over her ‘condition,’ Lei has completely distanced herself from the world. When her husband, unable to take her detachment any longer, finally packs his bags and walks out, Lei realizes she must restart.
The Long-Term Side Effect is the quirky, awkward comedy re-imagined. A story about how we can restart life whenever we choose, but how we struggle with the desire for everyone in our life to change with us. The film explores Lei’s relationship with a new client, a young man, a Feng Shui Consultant, a stranger with pancreatic cancer, and her daughter – five people who each fear Time differently.