The Story

Toilet-plunger salesman Wallace Cavanaugh arrives in Ocean City with a poor job performance record and little else. After a long day of trying to sell his wares, Wallace finds himself with time to kill before he and his boss set off on their early morning ride back to New York.

And then something magical happens. He meets Imogene. She sells him a movie ticket and later joins him an amazing nightlong conversation.If only he could see her again. Surely, he's then be able to rid his life of its misery. Under the guise of selling more plungers, Wallace convinces his boss to let him stay behind.

But, Imogene is nowhere to be found.

Now on his own in Ocean City, Wallace begins a search that will ultimately change him in ways he never thought possible. By falling into Imogene's old routines-- eating where she ate, attending her dance class, and hanging around the theater where they first met-- he finds a life he enjoys much more than his own. But when his boss realizes no plungers have been sold and returns to find out why, Wallace has to make a choice between his responsibility to his past and his desires for the future.

Will he continue searching for Imogene? Will he stay in Ocean City? Will his sense of duty drag him back to New York? Something has to give. The question is: What?

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Awards

Recipient: NYU Haig Manoogian Post-Production Award
Recipient: Best Short, Roslyn Film Festival 2007
Nominated: Best Student Film, First Glance Philadelphia Film Festival
Nominated: Best Dramatic Short, Ohio Independent Film Festival
Nominated: Best Student Film, Ashland Independent Film Festival
Opening Night Film: Cape May New Jersey State Film Festival
Opening Night Film: Ocean City Film Festival
Official Selection: Palm Springs International Festival of Short Film

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The Filmmakers

Avi Glijansky, Writer/Director
Avi received his B.F.A in Film and Television from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU in 2003. He is the Writer and Director of several short films including the award winning Ocean City. On the strength of Ocean City he was contacted by the Sundance Writer’s Lab and received an open invitation to submit new work. His feature script, 30th Street, has been a finalist there twice. In 2005, 30th Street also took 2nd place in the “25 and Under” category of the annual Set in Philadelphia Screenplay Competition organized by the Philadelphia Film Office. In 2006, Avi and his producing partner, Adam Spielberg, were among the final 15 filmmakers considered by Jonathan Lethem when he held a contest to give away the option to his novel You Don’t Love Me Yet. From January 2007 through January 2009, Avi was a production and development executive at Los Angeles based Upload Films. During his time at Upload, Avi was intimately involved in all of the company’s projects, including Shotgun Stories, The Babysitters, Print, and Drool. In late 2008, Upload Films attached Avi as director of Without Recoil, a project he had developed for them while still working full time at the company. Currently, Avi is prepping Without Recoil and adapting the novel Messiah by Gore Vidal for producers Mark Petracca and Michael Butler, with Alison Thompson (The Third Wave) attached to direct.

Adam Spielberg, Producer
Adam graduated Cum Laude from the Film and Media Arts program at Temple University in Philadelphia, and was nominated for the 2002 School of Communications and Theater Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievements. During his time at Temple, Adam directed several short films including Charlotta Is Late, which was screened in the Spring 2000 Best of Department series. In 2004, Adam line produced the feature film Blue Road directed by Oliver Cukor. Adam is currently VP of Production and Development for Gigantic Pictures. In this capacity he has been shepherding The Two Christas from writer-director Ian McCulloch, recently attaching James Urbaniak and Ebon Moss-Bachrach to the lead roles. Adam also oversaw distribution for Flannel Pajamas working closely with distribution veteran (and director of the film) Jeff Lipsky, as they brought the film to over 60 markets. He has also worked as the production coordinator and assistant post-production supervisor on Flannel Pajamas and Year of the Fish and assistant production coordinator on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show.

Steve Huber, Cinematographer
Steven received his B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2001 with a concentration in cinematography. In addition, he studied as part of a Master Class in 35mm Cinematography at Prague's FAMU, one of the oldest film schools in Europe. While at NYU, he was the recipient of the Warner Brothers Picture Film Production Award and received three awards for Excellence in Cinematography for his work on short films. He shot his first feature at age 21, and his second feature, Madness and Genius starring Tom Noonan, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2003. American Cinematographer profiled Steven's work as DP on the music video "No Breaks" by The Bravery. He has shot videos for Animal Collective, Cute is What We Aim For, Man in Gray, and most recently Ultra Nate.

Jeremiah McVay, Editor
Jeremiah graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2002. His past credits include Smile, a dramatic short film centering on a love story with a creepy twist, and the documentary That Which Lingers also with director Avi Glijansky. In addition He has cut multiple music videos for indie rock bands. Jeremiah also works as a freelance graphic and web designer and, in edition to editing Ocean City, he designed the DVD and poster artwork, as well as the film's website. Apart from his film work, Jermiah was the drummer for acclaimed NYC band Man in Gray and is currently recording with his new project Coyote Eyes.

{ full cast and crew credits available at imdb.com}

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Director’s Note

Almost everyone has a story about the one that got away. For me, it was Shelly-- the redheaded Australian. I would tell you her last name, but I don’t know it. I met her one night when I was studying in Israel. What began as small talk about trivial things somehow became one of those amazing up-all-night conversations that people wistfully reflect upon. We made plans to meet the next day, but Shelly’s group left early. At the time I was crushed. I felt like my soul mate had disappeared and spent the next few weeks trying to track her down, which proved an impossible task, as I had absolutely nothing to go on.

I may not remember exactly what Shelly looked like, but I remember the way our conversation made me feel and, subsequently, the sense that I had lost the chance at something truly special. What would have happened if I’d found Shelly’s number? And if I managed to see her again, would reality live up to the dream of that one night? Ocean City is my way of further exploring those questions: How far will Wallace go to find Imogene, his Shelly? Is she really what he’s looking for?

The setting for Ocean City was inspired by another story in my past. Up until I turned eight, my family made an annual pilgrimage to a similar beachside town. The memories of those summer trips are almost faded now-- what remain are bits and pieces, flashes of images and feelings. Thinking about that town feels a lot like thinking about Shelly. I have memories of emotions more than a specific place or a person. I hope I’ve captured a bit of that feeling on film.

- Avi Glijansky, 2004

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Production Notes

A Tale of Two Ocean Cities
When Writer/Director Avi Glijansky began work on Ocean City he had Ocean City, Maryland in mind-- the town where his family often vacationed when he was a grade-schooler. "I hadn't been there in years when I sat down to write, but I remembered walking on the boardwalk in the early evening with the Ferris Wheel looming over everything,” he recalls. “That image was my starting point when I wrote the script." However, shooting in Maryland would have been difficult for a Manhattan and Philadelphia-based production team. Ocean City, New Jersey proved to be an ideal alternative. The town has the nostalgic feel Avi was looking for, and its location allowed for the frequent shuttle runs to and from NYC that the production team required.

Building the Strand Theater Piece by Piece
While two old-fashioned movie theaters do exist on Ocean City’s boardwalk, the production was not able to secure either as a location. This was no small setback since the movie theater is the film’s central location. The crew got around this by creating the film’s theater from two separate locations. The Ventnor Theater in Ventnor, NJ was used for interiors and the Strand Theater in Wildwood, NJ provided exteriors. “The Ventnor had the prefect classic interior, with a lot of rich wood paneling and a really colorful concession stand,” says Producer Adam Spielberg. “The Strand had a fantastic Marquee which was crucial, and with a bit of plaster and some flats we were able to cheat the front of it to match the Ventnor.” In addition to combining the two locations, Cinematographer Steve Huber had the challenge of making the theater appear to be on Ocean City’s boardwalk. He achieved this by blowing out the windows on the interiors and by shooting reverse.

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Contact

avi@highway9pictures.com

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