Elevation, a post-apocalyptic science fiction thriller starring Anthony Mackie, is the first feature film written by Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts alumni Kenny Ryan (’06) and Jacob Roman (’07). Together with screenwriter John Glenn, they conceived the idea and developed the script until it went into production last year. The film is directed by George Nolfi, whose previous work includes The Adjustment Bureau and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Elevation takes place in a world in which 95% of the human population has been destroyed by creatures called Reapers — giant, bug-like predators that emerged without warning from the depths of the earth. The survivors have sheltered in mountain refuges where their safety depends on one rule: remain above 8,000 feet. Mackie, who plays a single father, decides to venture below “The Line” to get his young son life-saving medical supplies. He is accompanied by a scientist (Morena Baccarin) and a neighbor (Maddie Hasson) from their community. Together, they form a bond that represents humanity’s best chance of defeating the enemy.

Glenn, Ryan, and Roman had worked together previously on SEAL Team, the hit CBS drama series starring David Boreanaz.

“Basically, it was a fantastic mentor/protege relationship,” Ryan said, speaking of their friendship with Glenn. “We got a chance to look over John’s shoulder as he was developing projects with M. Night Shyamalan and Mark Gordon and see how those pitch documents and outlines gave birth to scripts. It was an incredibly valuable apprenticeship — both from the basic ‘how to do this job’ but also on a relationship level.”

Glenn helped them shape the script into something both compelling and commercial. They decided to build the world of the movie around a single rule: If you stay above “The Line” you will live, if you go below, your life will be in danger.

“The best high-concept ideas contain whole worlds within a single sentence, or a short 30-second pitch that anyone on the planet can understand, and that was exactly the kind of lightning we trapped in the proverbial bottle,” said Roman. “We immediately knew that was ‘it.’ That initial idea sort of self-populated an entire world for the film, informing everything from the characters and their journeys to the film’s set pieces.”

Ryan and Roman met at Biola and formed a strong creative partnership under the auspices of Craig Detweiler, then chair of the film department.

“Craig really encouraged us to find a way to integrate our spirituality into the world we were going into,” Ryan said. “Craig pushed us to not think small, but instead to chase down big ideas and concepts and find a way to see God in them.”

Roman agrees that Detweiler taught him how to integrate his spiritual identity into the stories he told, and not to shrink from an industry that was so often characterized as enemy territory.

“Thanks to that background,” Roman said, “I’ve always considered my faith to be one of my biggest assets as a storyteller and have always embraced the chance to live and work in Hollywood as an incredible honor instead of something to be feared.”

Elevation opens November 8 in theaters. Learn more about the film here.

Less than 20 miles away from Los Angeles, the entertainment hub of the country, The Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts provides students hands-on opportunities to be immersed in the film industry. Learn more about applying to the program.

Written by Nate Bell, Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts. For more information, email media.relations@biola.edu.