Fort Tilden Press Kit A comedy about Allie and Harper and their needlessly difficult journey to the beach. The debut feature film of directors Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers – and showcasing the comedic versatility of Clare McNulty and Bridey Elliott as Allie and Harper – “Fort Tilden” is a hilariously insightful and recognizable look at the consequences of extended adolescence. Grand Jury Award Winner, Narrative Feature SXSW - 2014 Winner Special Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature Independent Film Festival, Boston - 2014 CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION Films We Like Bookings and Inquries: [email protected] CANADIAN PUBLICITY & MEDIA REQUESTS V Kelly & Associates, Inc.: [email protected] Press Kit and High Rez Images: filmswelike.com/fort-tilden filmswelike Page !1 of !15 SYNOPSIS: Fort Tilden: New York City’s secluded seaside nirvana where, like flies to honey, Brooklyn’s hip millennial set flocks on sweltering weekend afternoons for unbridled summertime indulgence. Amidst the vexing stagnation of quarter-life crises, Allie (Clare McNulty) struggles to prepare for the Peace Corps, while Harper (Bridey Elliott) awaits checks from her father to fund her artistic dreams. But the two friends quickly shun responsibilities for the day when a pair of good-looking guys invites them along for a carefree Fort Tilden afternoon. As the two young women board their fixed-gear bicycles and embark on a lengthy journey to the beach, they quickly realize that, akin to their confusing, transitioning lives, they neither know where they’re going nor how they plan to get there. About FORT TILDEN Not everyone’s good at accomplishing things. Some people know a lot about some things, others know a little about a lot of things. Some people don’t really know much at all, but are good at making you think they do. You wanna follow them. To the beach. In the Spring of 2013, former NYU Film School pals SARAH-VIOLET BLISS and CHARLES ROGERS had been tossing around some ideas for a possible web series. One such story involved two unaccomplished Brooklyn 20-something girls who decide to take a trip on bikes from Williamsburg to Fort Tilden, the latest hip-place-to-go for Brooklynites. “We’ve taken the trip out to Fort Tilden,” Rogers explains. “On the one hand, it shouldn’t be that hard of a trip. But on the other hand, it can be. And there’s a lot of comedic potential – two characters on a very simple journey, but they complicate it for themselves. They’re two very flawed characters trying to do something that shouldn’t be so hard.” Apparently, this concept isn’t all that far-fetched. “Everyone seems to have a horror story about trying to get to Fort Tilden,” Bliss laughs, Rogers adding, “Most of the stories involve people not getting there.” A friend of Bliss’s had, in fact, attempted such a trip by bicycle, her boyfriend’s tires blowing out while going over the Marine Parkway Bridge, requiring the two to try to find someone with a car to rescue them. “And that’s very hard to find in New York City,” she says. “It was a long day for them, sweating and never getting to Fort Tilden. So what started off as a really fun, romantic idea ended up being a nightmare” – and a seed for a ridiculous adventure, which the two filmmakers decided to build into a feature film, their first. filmswelike Page !2 of !15 Rogers and Bliss sat down with another former NYU friend, Brian Lannin (whom Bliss had known since her earliest days at the school, and would eventually act as cinematographer for FORT TILDEN) and outlined the idea for the movie together. Much of the writing involved recording conversations the three had together while talking over ideas. “We just talked and talked, until we finally felt like we were getting into the points of view of these characters,” Rogers recalls. “There’s a lot of Sarah-Violet and myself in both of these people, for better or worse,” he laughs. The story revolves around two young women, Allie and Harper, who share an apartment in Williamsburg. Allie has an apparently upbeat attitude and is getting ready to run off to the Peace Corps to serve in Liberia. Her roomie, Harper, is a budding artist with a sardonic sense of humor, and, not being quite at the point of selling any of her “art,” is financially dependent on her wealthy father . Neither has managed to accomplish much thusfar, but nonetheless require a day off. To play Allie, Bliss turned to an acting friend from her undergraduate days at Oberlin College, CLARE McNULTY, whom Bliss had featured in a number of short films. “What Clare can do on camera is unique and very true to herself,” the director notes. “She’s hilarious, in a straight man way. Her humor comes out because she’s just being so honest about how anyone would act in a certain situation.” It probably didn’t hurt that the film’s sense of humor was a familiar one, McNulty says. “I thought Allie was very funny in a very Sarah-Violet and Charles kind of way. You can see them both in these characters.” When she first read the script, McNulty felt an immediate connection to Allie. “I identified with her – pretty hard,” the actress says. “I felt like the dynamic between her and Harper was a familiar one, for me and my life. I felt a lot of empathy for her.” Allie’s rudderless life stood out. “She lacks confidence. I think she’s directionless, almost passionless. She can’t figure out where to put her passion or her desires. I went through so many periods of my life where I didn’t know what I wanted. And I think Allie just has no idea what she wants.” An extended trip to Africa, courtesy of the Peace Corps, is probably not a reality for Allie, though she likes to think it is. “Her whole M.O. is wanting to appear as if she’s taking control of her life, but she really has no idea what she wants to do,” Bliss explains. “It doesn’t seem like the Peace Corps is really a good fit for her. It’s just some path she can cling to and that she can tell people that that’s what her pursuits are. It really doesn’t seem like she’s thought it out well enough.” “It’s a badge of honor,” McNulty adds. “This generation, we’re always trying to top each other. Everybody’s just trying to say that they’re doing something. It’s nice to be able to say that you’re going to the Peace Corps, because it implies so many things about you: you’re responsible, that you care about the world, that you’re courageous, idealistic and driven. And it’s not that she’s none of those things. She wants to be those things. But it’s really just a distraction for her, to take her attention off of thinking about what she’s good at, what she’s not good at, and what makes her happy.” filmswelike Page !3 of !15 While she is supposed to be spending the day in preparation for her imminent departure to Liberia (which everyone keeps warning her is far from a safe place to go), she has blown off her commitments to head to the beach. Allie is constantly reminded of that fact, however, by her Peace Corps contact, a crabby, no- nonsense woman named Cabiria (played over the phone by ALLYSON KAYE DANIEL), who doesn’t buy any of Allie’s b.s. excuses. “Cabiria is someone who doesn’t take any shit,” Bliss says. “Allie lies and says that she’s sick, and Cabiria can tell when someone’s lying to her.” Adds Rogers, “Allie’s afraid of confrontations – and Cabiria is a woman of confrontations.” The character’s name comes from a friend of Bliss’s, who was named for the Fellini film, Nights of Cabiria. “My friend is actually the exact opposite of the character – she’s very sweet and nice!” she laughs. Casting the bitingly comedic Harper took some care on Bliss and Rogers’ part. “We were having trouble finding somebody to play her, because it’s such a specific role,” says Rogers. “There’s a danger in miscasting that role, because she says so many awful things about other people throughout the whole movie that you could easily end up not liking her, which we didn’t want. You identify with aspects of her points of view about other people throughout the movie. So it was important to find somebody who has a sweet nature.” The two became aware of BRIDEY ELLIOTT through the comedy world, and when they began watching videos of her online, knew they had found their Harper. “She’s sweet, and she’s pretty weird,” Rogers laughs. “A lot of Harper’s insults are not just your average insults. There’s also something bizarre and creative about the things that she says, and Bridey could pull that off.” “They contacted me on my birthday and said they had seen some videos of mine at the UCB Theater,” the actress recalls. “I met with them at the Ace Hotel a few weeks later, and just thought they were really delightful people. I read the script, and I just laughed out loud. And all of the pitfalls of being young and in the city definitely spoke to me.” Harper’s complexity was also appealing to the actress. “She’s very smart and sharp, but I think she lacks a confidence in herself that she takes out on other people,” Elliott says.