Walter, Grace, & The Submarine

TYPE: Narrative Feature
GENRE: Comedy
STATUS: Post-Production

LOGLINE

Walter’s new in town. Grace is leaving town. When a chance romantic weekend connects them, they bond over traumatic childhoods, unrealized talents, and… ice cream.

SYNOPSIS

After sparking an untimely connection, Walter and Grace decide to spend one weekend together before separating. While exploring Grand Rapids, the two forge a strong connection by sharing vulnerable stories from their pasts. When their connection is tested, they must decide how they fit into each other’s futures.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Since 2018, while living with my parents during a gap semester away from college, I’ve been creating some version of Walter, Grace, & The Submarine, a story that highlights how friendship-love is just as important (if not more so) than romantic or familial love. There was no “Submarine,” but a relative of mine became obsessed with online religious conspiracy theories due to both an undiagnosed mental illness, and newfound access to the internet (thanks smartphone). There was no “Grace,” but I did form a strong connection with a photographer at a point when neither she nor I were fit to be in a relationship (she, too, may or may not have been about to move across the country). There are many small moments in this movie that only a specific person would recognize, and I hope she does; the film, however, is not autobiographical…I promise.

Prior to writing Submarine, I found some comfort in pouring through videos and podcasts related to cult-like, online communities (along with one extremely niche, submarine-themed John Mayer song). Learning about these communities, their members, and how they affected those around them, I deeply identified with this and felt how it rang familiar to my own family. Knowing how many people (myself included) process the weight of traumatic circumstances through witty humor, I naturally found myself creating a story teetering around playfulness and melancholy, along with the spaces that exist between them. A story that explores how the wounds of healing can mend in strange, sometimes unexpected, ways. Both Walter and Grace frequently provide us with laughter and sadness; often, simultaneously. Just like trauma. Just like healing.

All too often, people shut away their vulnerability, suffering in silence with their pain. Walter, Grace & The Submarine is for everyone who feels isolated and “crazy” because of those closest to them (and the internet). It’s for those who want to cry but don’t, or won’t, or can’t, who have so much to say…but aren't sure how to say it, and for those who feel stuck, lost, and everyone in between. Walter, Grace, & The Submarine is for all of those who have a heart, which is, after all, all of us.

KEY CREW

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