Virginia Goes To Sea

A short film. Shot in 1988. Completed in 2020.

Virginia Goes To Sea

A Snowflake Avalanche Production
www.snowflakeavalanche.org

Directed by Mark Lutwak
Written by Y York

Shot by Tom Chargin

Music by The Kleini Trio (2020)
Sabrina Pope - clarinet
Mark Lutwak - accordion & piano
Joe Casalini - bass
www.thekleinparty.com

Edited by Nick Casalini & Muriel Montgomery
for Nick & Muriel's award-winning series Fam Club please check out https://vimeo.com/355459558
You can also find Nick & Muriel's podcast "Hella In Your Thirties" wherever you get your podcasts or at www.patreon.com/hellainyourthirties

Starring Virginia Thompson, Molly Thompson, Joe Casalini, Y York, Richard Hoover, Nick Casalini, Joey Casalini

Dedicated to Virginia & Ray

Special Thanks to Helmsman Joe Kremen

Co-Produced by Nick & Muriel

*A note from co-editor Nick Casalini:

I grew up hearing about the lost footage from a wild film shoot at grandma and grandpa's. I heard it was about Mom and Dad driving Grandma crazy so they could steal her house. I knew they had filmed it but never finished it and that the tapes were gone. I knew Mark and Y wrote and directed it, so it had to be cool. Those two were famous in our house for doing weird art stuff with my parents since way before I was born. Mark and Y were funny and serious at the same time which I always liked and legend has it that they introduced my parents to each other. Oh, and word was that it looked great because Tom Chargin was the cinematographer. Tom was (and is) a bad ass photographer and certified mad man who was my dad's childhood best friend. Everything was crazier and better when Tom was around, so the mystique of the missing movie included how gorgeous it was. Plus, my parents acted in it and Grandma Virginia was the star. And apparently even me and my brother Joey made cameos. My family never shot any home videos, so I always fantasized about one day getting to see this movie.

Well, at 36, in the Year of our Lord 2020, during the Great Corona Virus Pandemic Shutdown, I finally got my hands on the recently rescued footage. And boy did it not disappoint. My wife (and co-editor) Muriel Montgomery and I are filmmakers who collaborate on projects and are now a few years older than my parents and the crew were when they shot Virginia Goes To Sea. Watching my parents on screen, and seeing outtakes of Mark and Y working behind the scenes, it's remarkable how much they all remind me of Muriel and I. As a filmmaker, I am proud of this short film - it's an absolute celebration of 1980s arthouse videos. I think it's playful and silly and offers a little light exploration of the heaviness of passing away. As a kid, am I so thankful to Mark, Y, Richard and Tom for making this thing happen so I get to watch a movie starring my parents and grandma! I am especially moved by the outtake at the very end: Grandpa Ray and I offscreen arguing like brothers. I have no memory of this, but it helps me understand why we eventually understood each other so well.

I truly hope you enjoy Virginia Goes To Sea and I would be moved if you shared it with anyone who has a connection to the friends, family or stunning setting of Lakebay, Washington that made this film possible.

Thank you,
Nick Casalini