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Swimmers A Film by Doug Sadler A Production by Damage Control Filmproduction & Horizen Global Productions In association with QuasiWorld Entertainment PRELIMINARY PRODUCTION NOTES Production Contacts: Horizen Global Catherine Enriquez 9 East 19th Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10003 Tel: (212) 957-7070 Fax: (212) 957-7570 [email protected] Sales Contacts: Cinetic Media Liesl Copland 555 West 25th Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10001 Tel: (212) 204-7979 Fax: (212) 204-7980 [email protected] International Sales: Shoreline Entertainment Brian Sweet 1875 Century Park East, Ste. 600 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Tel: (310) 551-2060 Fax: (702) 974-0707 [email protected] www.swimmersthemovie.com WORLDWIDE RIGHTS AVAILABLE PRINCIPAL CAST Emma TARA DEVON GALLAGHER Julia CHERRY JONES Will ROBERT KNOTT Clyde SHAWN HATOSY Merrill SARAH PAULSON Mike MICHAEL MOSLEY Shellie KATE GOEHRING FILMMAKERS Writer/ Director Co-producer Doug Sadler Daniel Bickel Producers Casting Melanie Backer Ellen Parks, C.S.A. David W. Leitner Michael Yanko Production Designer Mark White Director of Photography Rodney Taylor Costume Design Ane Crabtree Executive Producers Ophira Dagan Editors Lisa Green Lilah Bankier Affonso Gonçalves Executive Producers Susan Korda Eran Conforty Eli Gonda Music Supervisor Chris Huddleston Susan Jacobs Belton Lee Michael Lin Original score Eli Navon Paul Cantelon David Darling Synopsis Set in a small waterfront town tucked along the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, SWIMMERS follows the relationship between a lonely eleven year-old girl from a family of struggling watermen and an enigmatic young woman making an uneasy return to the home of her childhood. As the young woman provides an oasis from the stress and financial hardships that threaten to tear the girl’s family apart, she in turn finds herself growing ever-dependent on the unconditional friendship and unlikely support the child provides. SWIMMERS stars Tara Devon Gallagher (as eleven year-old Emma) and Sarah Paulson (as her confidante Merrill) in performances that achieve bare bones honesty. When Emma suddenly requires a vital medical procedure and her father (Robert Knott) loses his fishing boat – and his livelihood – Emma’s family finds itself on the brink. Meanwhile, Merrill fights to reconcile the emotional turmoil of her past with her attraction to Emma’s brother Clyde (Shawn Hatosy). As Emma’s curiosity and interest lighten Merrill’s perspective on her own soul searching, Merrill’s influence provides the girl with a much needed sense of freedom and mischievousness. As Emma begins to unveil the story of Merrill’s past, however, their friendship takes a dark turn and her mother (Cherry Jones) intervenes. Soon relationships collide and secrets are revealed in the fractious household. Told from Emma’s imaginative perspective, SWIMMERS is a fiercely intimate look at the strength and delicacy of family and an eloquent paean to the lifestyle of the Chesapeake waterman. Ultimately, the film illuminates the lives of people for whom survival and redemption often require heartbreaking negotiation with their daily hopes and fears. Director’s Statement SWIMMERS is about people who have fallen out of balance with nature (both their own and the natural world), and whose lives depend upon regaining that balance. In order to illuminate these connections, I have chosen to observe this intense time in the Tyler family from the perspective of Emma, who, as the youngest, can still see and feel in a way that the adults around her cannot. Though Emma’s voice and worldview have some relation to magical realism, SWIMMERS is a realistic portrait of the inner life of a girl still connected to the possibility and personality of the natural world around her. Since her reality includes the world of imagination, it is my responsibility as a filmmaker to follow her there. That said, SWIMMERS is grounded in a realistic style of performance and setting. The fishermen of the Chesapeake Bay (or watermen as they are known locally) have lived for centuries on the crabs and oysters they harvest. A proud, independent tradition emblematic of the American spirit, watermen are also uniquely threatened by growth, environmental and economic concerns. Thus, Will Tyler and his family are particularly vulnerable to the sort of financial crisis with which they are confronted. The impracticality of Will’s sons continuing this tradition also permeates their relationships with each other and themselves. This way of life, and Will’s struggle to continue it, exemplify one of the things being lost in our drive toward technological and financial excess and resulting disconnection with nature. I cannot overstate the subtlety with which I hoped to address the political and cultural issues raised by SWIMMERS. Ultimately, this is a story about people facing specific crises and striving to give birth to new dreams. It concludes with hope firmly rooted where it always has been: in that which is to come. Doug Sadler A conversation with Writer/Director Doug Sadler 1. Some of today's best regional filmmakers (Joel and Ethan Coen, David Gordon Green and Alexander Payne for example) emerged from the independent sector. SWIMMERS certainly follows that tradition. What appealed to you about Chesapeake Bay and its people? Well, number one - the Chesapeake is a stunningly beautiful area visually. And I was introduced to it as a kid living on a sailboat, so I was seeing the area from the water from the beginning. I was about twelve at the time and very interested in anything nautical, so I was immediately curious about these elegant workboats and the people who made their living on them. At one point my family ended up weathering a storm at Smith Island, which is one of the more isolated, deeply entrenched ‘watermen communities’ in Maryland. My Dad and I went to a local oyster fry fundraiser and the sense of a unique, tightly entwined community was palpable. It reminded me a bit of the uniqueness and depth of the Cajun culture of Louisiana, which is where I lived prior to moving onto the sailboat. That initial interest remained strong enough that as I became more involved in writing and filmmaking, I kept returning to, and researching, the watermen. Since the Chesapeake is one of the largest estuaries in the world which is impacted environmentally by five or more states, it’s also an interesting political and environmental case study – though I wanted to treat that issue in a very, very subtle manner by focusing on the impact on people’s lives. The Chesapeake is one of the few places where people’s livelihoods are directly connected to the health and productivity of the natural world. The beauty and magic of the area and the threats that it faces, as well as the impact of change on real people – those were some of the things that drew me to the Chesapeake. That and the fact that I live there. 2. Joseph Beyer's entry in the Sundance Film Festival catalogue states that SWIMMERS is "a uniquely American story that combines an Arthur Miller sense of drama with emotive Edward Hopperesque photography." Beyond the setting and look of the film, what do you believe qualifies SWIMMERS as "uniquely American?" Well, the setting is pretty key to that actually. Historically, America is based on an agrarian society – that would be the farmer. And more or less these people are farmers of the water. We’ve moved away from that somewhat, and while I’m not suggesting we go backward, we have kind of lost sight of our immediate connection to the health of the natural world. So – I don’t know if that is uniquely American, but it is unique to the Chesapeake. And it is something that is being uniquely lost without particular concern from our country. Also, there is a common thread throughout the country for families who are going along or barely getting along and then the transmission goes out or somebody needs an operation or something and suddenly they are really up against it. And that is certainly the dynamic that I was interested in exploring. I believe that is what Beyer has touching on with the reference to Arthur Miller – which is flattering to say the least. That issue of health insurance or lack of it in our country today for most families and the impact that has – and what that means as far as being able or not able to provide the daily basics for ones family. I mean, this film couldn’t be set in Sweden, could it? 3. How important is the economic level of the Tyler family to their ability to deal with the moral dilemma(s) you set up for them in SWIMMERS? As opposed to say, an upper class family living in the Hamptons? Ultimately, a certain amount of this comes down to what I know and what I’m interested in. I have a certain regional bent to me, but I think you could go into any town in this country and find a unique kind of environment or subculture. You could find it in New York City in the meatpacking district. Films tend to skip over that in favor of something that’s a little more elevated or glossy or sexy. 4. What is the significance of the title? Each of the characters has a relationship with the water and each is struggling in their own way to keep from being drowned by their emotions/circumstances/lives etc. There is William Warner’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic about the Chesapeake, “Beautiful Swimmers” – the title of which is taken from the Latin name for the Maryland Blue Crab, which translates as ‘beautiful swimmer’. The crab’s life cycle requires it to shed its shell in order to grow (during which time they are called ‘peelers’).