James Ian and Margo Gignac Discuss Disaster Inequality in the Powerful Short Film ‘Emergency Plan’ [Interview]

James Ian was jetlagged and physically struggling on the early April morning he arrived to set in Manhattan to film Emergency Plan for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, a contest during which disabled filmmakers have six days to produce a 5-minute short film.

He had flown to the city from Los Angeles the night before the only day of principal photography. Tired and in the midst of recovering from an intense surgery, Ian, who has spinal muscular atrophy type 3 and C5 palsy, didn’t see the accessible entrance to the building.

As he stepped through the revolving door, one of the panels clipped him, sending all six feet of him, winter coat and all, sprawling across the lobby floor. He needed help to stand and make it to work, but the building’s security guard refused to touch him and wanted to call an ambulance.

Ian knew he would be fine. He refused that suggestion and called members of the Emergency Plan crew instead.

The group, including two wheelchair users, assembled in the lobby and rigged a way to lift him by his belt. They had Ian standing in ten minutes. A hospital trip would’ve taken all day and delayed the film.

He told Eulalie Magazine that he’s fallen plenty in his life, gotten up, and continued his day. “I don’t need to incur a freaking medical bill unnecessarily.”

Although it was an imperfect way to make an entrance, the incident also encapsulates the spirit of the film the mostly disabled creative team was shooting that day.

Anna Pakman’s Emergency Plan stars Margo Gignac as Jasmine, a quadriplegic electric wheelchair user who is determined to get her son Riley (Charlie Steinman) to safety as aftershocks from an earthquake threaten to crumble their Manhattan high-rise apartment to the ground.

Ian plays Eddie, her aloof partner who thinks first responders will keep their promise to help the family evacuate, even though he forgot to relay that he also uses an electric wheelchair. Tony winner Ali Stroker’s voice is the radio anchor and the film’s emotional catalyst.

Thankfully, Ian’s fall wasn’t serious, but it underscores the Emergency Plan’s message. Disabled people are often left to solve problems primarily on their own — whether they need to get up off the floor or make a heartbreaking decision to save their child’s life.

Gignac was blissfully unaware of her co-star’s fall until lunch, but said that the supportive, non-judgmental vibe on set remained, whether someone needed help grabbing their phone or the cinematographer (another wheelchair user) needed to lean on her wheelchair to get the perfect angle.

“It’s always my favorite to see wheelchair users helping other wheelchair users. It makes me giggle because it’s funny in an ironic way, but it’s also beautiful,” she said.

The power of being unapologetically disabled

In their joint interview, Ian and Gignac, who both model and act, said that although they’re rare, sets with mostly disabled creatives are preferable to mainstream sets.

“A disabled crew or [co-stars], we’re going to look out for each other. We’re going to have a much better grip on accessibility and what people need,” Ian said, adding that the security breeds freedom to tell a more authentic story.

Gignac agreed, in part because she knows she won’t go hungry on an inclusive set like she chooses to do sometimes when surrounded by non-disabled people on jobs.

“I will starve. I won’t even drink. I will literally be on the verge of passing out unless I have a person with me to [help] because I don’t want able-bodied people freak out,” she said. “[They see] one little struggle and they’re like, ‘oh my God, oh my God, the disabled person needs help. What do we do? Let’s call 9-1-1.’”

While filming Emergency Plan, the only people trying to call 9-1-1 were Jasmine and Eddie. The dire consequences they face when they’re unable to get through are based in fact.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, disabled people are two to four times more likely to die during a disaster than non-disabled people.

Although the film’s ending is ambiguous, the fact that a disabled couple chooses to meet their fate alone and send their child into the chaos of New York City streets has made Gignac emotional every time she’s read the script.

“It’s really terrifying. It’s literally life or death. And then to know that we’re basically orphaning a child… I could cry out thinking about it.”

Planning for a brighter future

Emergency Plan has partnered with the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies (PIDS) to raise awareness about the importance of inclusive disaster planning for disabled people. The film’s official website shares facts, planning checklists, and the PIDS emergency hotline (run by disabled people for disabled people who need help during disasters).

The first step of the process for people with disabilities is accepting that you need a plan and can’t just assume first responders or friends will make it to you in time to save your life, especially since disability rights are actively being dismantled.

“We have to rely on each other. At the end of the day, we have to have each other’s backs,” said Ian. “And that’s across the board, not for just disabled folks, but anyone who is, anyone who’s oppressed.”

There is hope for the future of disability rights beyond engaging local politicians. According to Gignac, it’s in the next generation and was personified on the Emergency Plan set in Steinman, who played Jasmine and Eddie’s son.

“I love him. If I had a son, I’d want him to be like Charlie,” she said. Gignac was a dancer before a car accident caused her disability, so the pair bonded over the Broadway star’s dance routines.

“It’s great to work with him, one, because he is so talented and he has an incredible future ahead of him…I know one day he’s going to make it big,” the Leverage: Redemption star said. “But it’s also nice to be able to implement that normalization with young people because I feel like that’s the only way to change society.”

Find out more about the short film, Emergency Plan.

Watch James Ian’s music video for “Spaces.”

Learn more about Eulalie Magazine here.

Esme Mazzeo

Esme Mazzeo is an entertainment journalist and disability advocate from Long Island. Her work has recently appeared in Vulture, CNN, Able News, and New Mobility.