Sole Searching is a modern-day coming of age short film about a teenage girl Sara, completely down in her luck, who finds an unlikely source of control in her chaotic life in the form of a sneaker she finds on the street. The film tackles the theme of the division between free will and fate, leaving the audience to wonder whether or not the shoe truly had any effect on her life, or if all events, good or bad, were just a product of chance. The minimalist visuals in this film are punctured with poignant and intimate moving shots to accentuate key emotional moments in Sara’s journey and help further the chaos of her unfortunate life. Further, the cool color palette is carefully selected to help emphasize the redness of the shoe and allow it to yield the same power on screen that it does in the script.
Sara, a snarky teenage girl, is down on her luck. Walking home from a tiresome swim practice, she is nearly hit by a car, saved by a shoe on the road. She finds the shoe to be the solution to all her problems, as it seemingly lands her a date with her crush Josh, helps her in the classroom, and makes her a far more skilled swimmer. However, her world comes crashing down when she is stood up by Josh. When all her hope is just about lost, she meets the owner of the shoe, forming an immediate connection with him, forgetting all about Josh.
Sara, a down-on-her-luck teenage girl, arrives late to a meeting with a coach at her school, who informs her that she must join the swim team, as she missed two weeks of P.E. due to a bout of pneumonia. After a tiresome practice, she must then walk home, her mom having mistakenly taken her car keys to work. On her way she is nearly hit by a car, only saved by a shoe she finds on the road. She quickly finds the shoe to be the solution to all her problems. She starts getting tricky questions correct in class with no preparation, she becomes a strong swimmer, and she lands a date with Josh, the boy she likes from school. She even begins letting the shoe make decisions for her, using it to select her outfit for the date. She arrives at the date, dressed and ready in her outfit and the shoe. As time goes by, she begins to worry that Josh is not coming, calling him multiple times and being sent to voicemail. Eventually, she loses hope, and she begins taking the shoe off, embarrassed by her own actions. However, just as she is about to leave, a waiter comes up to the table and announces that the shoe Sara has adopted is his. While initially cold to him, Sara warms up, and the two form an instant connection, and she quickly forgets all about Josh.
Colette Samek, the writer and director of Sole Searching, is an award-winning filmmaker, dedicated to her craft. She has been a part of the Viewpoint film program for five years, working hard to master a variety of technical and creative skills. Colette made her true directorial debut in 2021 with Lemonade, a comedy short about two individuals with competing lemonade stands. It went on to win Outstanding Achievement in Writing at the Calabasas Film Festival, and it was selected in a variety of others. Colette will be heading to Northwestern University in the fall to study chemical engineering.
Sophie Weiss is a senior at Viewpoint and the producer of Sole Searching. Sophie has been a dedicated member of the film department since she was in eighth grade, and has taken documentary, acting, and other film classes over the years. Sophie has focused on producing since her Sophomore year of high school, but is also a skilled director, set designer, and editor. She completed a summer film internship the same year as her Junior year project, Lemonade, went off to multiple film festivals. Sophie will be continuing her studies at Washington University in St. Louis next year while majoring in Film Studies.
“SOLE SEARCHING, I AM STILL LOOKING”
Zach Samuel is a passionate student of the filmmaking craft. He is the acting manager of the @solesearchingfilm TikTok account, which has amassed tens of thousands of views over a short period of time. He also served as the 1st Assistant Director and Sound Designer for this project. In the past, Zach has done sound for Lemonade and written and directed Invisible Enemy, which was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Writing by the Calabasas Film Festival. He will be attending Georgetown University this fall.
Julian Romano has been avidly involved in filmmaking since his freshman year of high school. He has been involved in numerous film productions, mainly focusing on creative roles, and he has even produced, wrote, and directed his own short film in 2021. He has experience in a wide variety of roles, and has completed a summer internship in the same year that his short film went into production. Julian plans to continue film throughout college, studying film and media studies at Chapman University.
Andrew Klaey is a senior at Viewpoint and the editor of Sole Searching. He has dedicated time to this film production while at the same time juggling varsity basketball state playoffs, where he juggles literal balls. He will be attending Northeastern University and will spend his first semester in Rome. Exploring the sole of the city.
Will Kanny has served roles on a multitude of different projects leading up to Sole Searching. He has experience doing sound, lighting, and cinematography on several projects. In 2021, he directed, produced, and edited a documentary called Esports. Esports is about a close-knit group who forms their own CIF recognized esports team, and competes against other schools for the first time in the school's history.
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