THE SHALLOWS
Directed by Joel Pincosy
Written by Peter Pincosy & Joel Pincosy
Produced by Thorsten Hoppenworth
CineNatura Productions
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.”
- Voltaire
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.”
- Voltaire
A middle-aged woman on an adventure faces an abrupt ending to her fun in a literal and emotional shipwreck.
A middle-aged woman on an adventure faces an abrupt ending to her fun in a literal and emotional shipwreck.
THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS
THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS
THIS IS WHERE IT HAPPENED
THIS IS WHO IT’S ABOUT
SUEAfter years of drinking, smoking and raging in the California sun, Sue’s pursuit of the ultimate party has become a lifestyle and it shows. The party is over but she doesn’t know it yet. Her beauty is now beyond its prime. Sue has done everything within her power to avoid life’s problems and has been successful at keeping the dream alive – until now.
DARWINThe kind of guy who sleeps rough on the beach, who has a permanent barstool imprint on his ass, who sees no reason at all why he shouldn't just feel all the glory and power of the moment, and who raises his hands into the air when he sings. He's kickin' around 50 years, give or take, and every chance to live at a fast pace might just be the chance before he slows down. But �rst he'll have another drink.
HAROLDHarold is an intentionally transient and charismatic man who left a small decaying town in Wyoming to live on his own terms out in the big world. His personal philosophy has taken him many places over the years and when he meets Sue and Darwin who are like-minded in their dream of societal independence and endless excitement, he seizes the day and steals a luxury yacht in a grand show to keep the dream alive.
IT’S ABOUT THIS THIS
THIS AND THIS
BUT IT MAY JUST BE ALL ABOUT THIS
It's not every morning that you wake up in jail. Sue, an aging beach-bunny, �nds herself staring at the painted bars of a cell, her mind re�ecting on moments that happened only a few hours before. The party is over but the memory is still fresh. She had been headed down the coast with her boy-friend, Darwin, and their supposed benefactor, Harold, when the 45 foot luxury yacht they had taken from a Bay Area marina crashed into a beach. Playing over the memories, she is disturbed by how the sudden change of course has landed her in a completely di�erent place. Harold's actions have become suspicious, Darwin's love has become undesirable.
In her cell, Sue is given time to imagine entire episodes in an existence full of unful�lled dreams. Now she must pick up the pieces of another shattered dream and �nd a way to salvage what remains of her already stunted life.
THE STORY
Northern Californians are dreamers. Somehow, the fact that they live in an area widely considered to be one of the most beautiful in the country doesn’t alleviate their need to dream. However, like many who live in beautiful places, their dreams are lazy, rarely tested, and prone to the fantastical. Inspired by John Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat and The Wayward Bus, “The Shallows” was written to explore just this type of Northern California dreamer. The kind with nothing to lose because they’ve already given it up. The kind that’s so liberal they’re really nearly conservative or, as John Milius the famous arch conservative of Hollywood likes to call himself, a “zen anarchist”.
An investigation of this particular type of person is, as in all of my �lms, an exploration of the fantasy that someone creates for themselves and in that reveals the fantasies we all have in life. The hope being that this pursuit results in the audience seeing and re�ecting upon the fragile and all too human potential we have to dwell in the fantasy we’ve created.
FILMMAKER’S STATEMENT
The �lm will be stylistically grounded in two camps; one of childlike fantasy in which they live and the other, in the gritty kitchen sink realism of our hero’s lives. It will be �lled with images that are base and almost mundane in nature, but also with strikingly beautiful imagery that captures the nostalgia and idealization of the worlds in which we wish to live. At times, the �lm will employ a ragged, and “in the moment quality” that can be seen here, here and here. In other moments the �lm will capture theintensity and brightness of memoryand dream, that can be seen here,here and here.
THE STYLE
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WILL MAKE IT
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Joel Pincosy - is an award-winning independent �lmmaker par excellence. His unique voice is telling stories of struggling characters in a compelling and, at times, humorous way. These complex characters are always the center of his stories; their lives, problems, and their development are the basis for the human con�icts he is interested in examining. His short �lms have screened at festivals across the US. Additionally, he has extensive experience in directing for television, music videos, and feature �lms.
PRODUCER: Thorsten Hoppenworth - Is Joel’s partner in crime. He is a German expat and producer. His ability to �nd exceptional talent and his passion to create amazing creative content has won him several awards in Cannes, ADC, New York Festival, Clio and EMMY. He has produced several short �lms, music videos and many commercials. All of his work shows his passion for storytelling, exciting visuals and attention to detail.
Together, Joel and Thorsten are a congenial and hard working duo, who complement each other’s strengths. They are out to conquer the world of cinematic storytelling.
WRITER: Peter Pincosy - Peter made his way to writing for �lm through the theater. Trained as an actor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, he found the challenge of writing his �rst screenplay, Sisyphus, to be a homecoming. Writing his �rst feature, OPTO: One Person Train Operation, a psychological horror �lm, brought him even closer. Each successive work, short or feature has made working in �lm feel more like his place in the world. With numerous shorts (The Sweat-Box, The Sporting Life, 146 BPM) and a couple features, written in partnership with Joel Pincosy, under his belt he's ready to build his artistic empire. He now lives in the Czech Republic with his partner and their newborn boy.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Justin Potter - A childhood love for photography has transformed into a passion for moving images that tell stories through the dynamics of composition and lighting. He’s put his talent to use shooting commercials, music videos, shorts and feature �lms.
EDITOR: Kevin N. Bailey - An avid hockey player and software inventor. Kevin has worked with luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola and Walter Murch. Films Kevin has worked on as an editor or assistant editor include; Twixt, Youth Without Youth, La Mission, Howl and Beasts of the Southern Wild.
PRODUCING TEAM: Tasha Nesbitt and Christopher F. Smith
ART DIRECTOR: Kacee Pyles SOUND RECORDIST: Keenan Jensen
WARDROBE: Valerie Emmi
VISUAL EFFECTS: Hectic Digital
THE SHALLOWS is currently in pre-production with �lming planned for September and the �nal �lm to be completed by January 2015.
w w w . t h e s h a l l o w s t h e m o v i e . c o m
JOIN US!
LIKE FOLLOW
