18% - Based on a True Story

An oceanside wedding with a gorgeous view. Check. An all expense paid honeymoon in the Caribbean. Double check. Probability of conceiving a son according to Chinese astrology? Triple check. MARC CRUZ wasn’t the type of guy to leave things to chance. But as he gazed at the ominous black wall on the ocean horizon with his new bride SARA, he was suddenly gripped with a feeling he hadn’t allowed in his life for a long time. Uncertainty.

Five months later, Marc and Sara have settled into an ordinary married life in their new fixer upper house. Despite setbacks, he remains in control of the ongoing home remodel and takes comfort that the baby’s room is ready.

Marc’s solace is shattered when he awakens to Sara’s painful cries and finds her bleeding in the bathroom. They race to the hospital and soon discover that something is wrong with the baby and Sara needs an emergency c-section. When Sara’s father GARY and mother AYA arrive, Gary is instantly antagonistic towards Marc and blames him for Sara’s situation.

After Sara’s surgery, DR. CHO delivers the shocking news about their child:

“Your son weighs only 1 lb 4 oz and his chances of survival are only 18%.”

Over the next several days, Marc tries to maintain some semblance of control juggling the home remodel, work and time at the hospital. Becoming sleep deprived and irrational, he begins lashing out and alienating himself from everyone including Sara.

After eight days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, one of the doctors discovers that the baby has a rare birth defect and must be transferred to Children’s Hospital for an emergency heart surgery. Marc’s emotional state spirals out of control. He is forced to confront his deepest fear, that he is becoming the man he’s been running from his entire life, his absent father.