The Apartment — Ana Menendez

Bristling with compassion, desire, and a longing to connect, The Apartment is a portrait of the complex and at times troubled inhabitants of a single unit in a South Miami Beach building -- an excavation of the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt our lives and a celebration of the communities that shine brightest in our darkest moment.

An art-deco sentinel, The Helena apartment building has silently witnessed the changing face of South Miami Beach for seventy years, observing -- without interfering -- the countless lives housed within its walls. But a single unit has seen more life (and sometimes death) than others. Those who have called Apartment 2B home include: a Cuban concert pianist who now only plays in a nursing home; the widow of an intelligence officer raising their young daughter alone; a man waiting on a green card marriage to run its course so that he can divorce his wife and marry his lover, all of whom live together in 2B; a Tajik building manager with a secret identity; a Vietnam vet receiving packages from his ex-wife. Each tenant imbues 2B with energy that can either heal or overwhelm the latest resident, Lana.

A mysterious woman struggling with her own demons, Lana mourns her beloved while unaware of the apartment's sometimes tragic history. Distraught and alone, she is watched over by a ghost, and together these two strangers brought into community by The Helena will find a measure of comfort and purpose, gaining a new insight into what we all owe one another.