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DOWN THE OCEAN

The short film Spinners grew from a real-life episode.  I had been hanging out with a group of young men who were all part of a crew of sign spinners. It was research for a documentary I was making.  Most of the young men were struggling financially, yet had big dreams of success and saw sign spinning as way to get there.  The script for my short film Spinners was based on their experiences, but I knew there was more.

What really struck me about these young men was the larger story about the journey they were taking.  They all had come from very poor families in towns with a bleak financial situation.  I saw their daily struggle and how far they had come and thought it was as epic and grand as any Hollywood blockbuster.  And I was struck by their sense of hope and determination against all odds.  Their plans for the future were hopelessly ambitious and just plain ridiculous, yet their unwavering sense of optimism was infectious.

This was the inspiration for what was to become Down the Ocean.

In the feature film Down the Ocean, we follow two young men and their brazen plans to travel from West Virginia to Ocean City, Maryland for the summer, without a car or a dime to their name.  What follows is an off-kilter road movie that is at times a stoner comedy,  other times razor-sharp dramatic realism, but ultimately a touching story of friendship and the bonds that make us human.