Summer Nights
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Synopsis: After acting in self defense, a group of high school friends (Maggie, Gertrude, Veronica, and Betty) are given the penalty of summer school by their strict and uncaring principal, Principal Stern. At a party, the girls save the principal’s daughter, Abby, from someone who tried to drug her drink. Thus starts a weekend of planning to trash Principal Stern’s office, all while being chased by angry rookie cops, Principal Stern looking for Abby, and Maggie’s painkiller addicted and mentally abusive boyfriend, Dylan.
Language
Run Time
Starring
Scout Gutzmerson (Maggie Godot)
Jason Schusterbauer (Principal Stern)
Alexandra Brents (Abby Stern)
Dylan Davidson (Dylan Sarris)
Directed by
Produced by
Scout Gutzmerson
Edited by
Justin Shamlian
Director's Statement
I wanted to make a film that feels either like a) a 1950s teenage delinquent gang film from the POV of the teens or b) a wannabe hangout film that keeps interrupting the good times with a plot. There’s a sad thing about making a film about power dynamics. When we started filming, Weinstein was first arrested, making the film’s abuse elements come to the forefront. But when we premiered it to friends and family two years later, the focus on power has moved to what police do to their communities, which brought out the police elements of the film. While we didn’t intend to make a film with a moralizing message, films that deal with heavy elements risk either dating extremely quickly (e.g. Reefer Madness), or have the opportunity to show how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. Our film hints at the end of the youthful times, where communication and empathy break down until something tragic happens, and we look in the mirror and ask “how did we get here?” and the answer was written on the wall behind us.
Director's Bio
Erik Olson was born in Virginia but moved around a lot until he was 16, when his family settled in Texas. He’s been trying to be a good writer since he can remember, and is now trying to be a good director. He tries to focus on ensemble films with anthropological looks at small town America, or comedies that slowly turn to tragedies. He currently resides in Austin, Texas, where his allergies have become almost unbearable, and is working on a new script that can hopefully be made as soon as safely possible.
