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INTER-STATE
TYPE: Narrative Feature
GENRE: Science Fiction
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
A young physicist must navigate working at a teleportation tech startup, as well as survive the mysterious being from another world she has brought into our own.
SYNOPSIS
When Ben, an idealistic scientist, accepts a job at a mysterious startup that's developing teleportation technology, she thinks her dreams have come true. But in a freak accident she briefly teleports herself to another dimension...and brings back a bloodthirsty creature not of this world: the Tracksuit Man.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
The long highway seemed to stretch forever. My eyelids got heavy. No end to my commute in sight. I could not fight it any longer, I gave in, and fell asleep at the wheel. My car swerved off the road, a blast of sound erupting as my tires struck the rumble strip. My eyes snapped open, I twisted the wheel, and narrowly dodged death. I took a deep breath, and continued my drive to work. During my stint as a highway commuter I would fall asleep at the wheel many more times, despite my best efforts to stay awake. Every day workers make the same, or worse, risks to do the jobs they hate. This is a film about the work we do to survive, the sacrifices we make to keep working, and the fire that burns inside so many of us to do something different.
Through the lens of a modern day science fiction horror movie, the film will follow the journey of Ben, a wide-eyed young physicist who quit a job in the defense sector for ethical reasons and finds herself working at a teleportation tech startup. At the heart of it is The Machine, an immensely complicated teleportation apparatus surrounded by debate over whether or not it is truly evil or potentially benevolent. The search for investors leads a defense company to take interest in the project, putting Ben in a moral dilemma. As the machine brings danger to the lives of the workers and those surrounding them, the question arises of whether or not the technology can be used for good or if the machine must be destroyed entirely. Throughout all of this Ben pushes through a long commute to the Machine.
INTER-STATE is a film unlike any other. A science fiction adventure through the horrors of working in our modern world, it will bring viewers to question our modern life and wonder if a brighter future is possible. Filmed on a shoestring budget entirely in rural Virginia, where I grew up, it will feature a gritty, handmade feel with a run and gun sensibility. Dark but a little campy, fast-paced, and rich with big ideas and bigger emotion, the film will be more than a little weird but speak to an experience we all share.
KEY CREW
Sam Gorman - Writer/Director
Sam Gorman is a writer-director from Virginia focused with a passion for genre filmmaking. Over the years Sam has cultivated a library of shorts that have garnered tens of thousands of views online and screened across the country. His work combines the aesthetics of low budget splatter films with exploration of deeper sociopolitical themes. As an educator Sam has mentored hundreds of filmmakers of all ages.
Max Mooney - Producer
Max Mooney is an Upstate New York-born filmmaker who strives to make honest, enthralling, character driven films. The kind of movies you’d want to put on after a hard day of work, but still leave you feeling deeply fulfilled. His work has screened internationally and has received diverse accolades, most recently for his activist documentary “Please Listen.” As an Editor, he recently finished cutting two feature length narratives (“The Catch” “Holy New York”) and a documentary (“Wolfgang”), all of which will see their premieres in early 2021. His recent work on the documentary “David and the Kingdom” won top honors at numerous festivals and recently made its international premiere at Cinema du Reel. Max also has a passion for organic farming and hopes to continue working in that field (pun intended).
Josh Palmer - Producer
Josh Palmer is a filmmaker from the DMV, currently based out of NYC who strives to forge opportunities for self-determined, independent filmmakers. Through the mentorship Kevin Jerome Everson at the University of Virginia, he made numerous films and learned a swiss-army-knife approach to the craft, with experience in every role from pre-to-post. After producing Micah Ariel Watson’s thesis film “Molasses”, he became a key producer of the “Black Enough” web-series. They plan to continue to develop personal, poetic, intimate work and support young, Black, independent filmmakers. His work and the work he has been a part of have screened at festivals including Virginia Film Festival, Poe Film Festival, Richmond International Film Festival, Miami Web Fest, National Black Film Festival, and has garnered tens of thousands of views on YouTube.
Aidan Macaluso - Cinematographer
Aidan Macaluso is a filmmaker currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated with a BFA in Film Production from Purchase in 2018. He is now pursuing stories and projects within a variety of genres but has a particular affinity toward
rural life - specifically in science fiction, horror and dark comedy.
William Miller - Production Design and Art Director
William Miller is a Production Designer and Set Decorator based out of NYC. William has styled several independent films, commercials, and music videos. His work has screened at festivals including The Brooklyn Independent Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, and the Film Society at Lincoln Center. As a freelancer, William has also crafted sets and props for ad campaigns for brands including Land's End, Bloomingdale’s, and Vogue.
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