Wholphin

Great lost films are not from 1919, but from the last 10 years.

If you hear about a great, unique independent film that premiered at Sundance, you assume it got to theaters, is out on DVD, is in the indie film world consciousness. Nope. There are hundreds of great films that premiere at the big fest that still disappear a year or two later. Theatrical and home video distribution is not guaranteed for anyone outside of celebrities it seems. Even films with style, distinctive settings and hot topic plots may not find a superhero to get them out to the public.

one of five posters made for the film

Around seven years ago, Shemie Reut was a cinematographer on music videos in New York when he decided he needed a break. Heading upstate, he ended up in a job as a camp counselor at Paradox Lake, specifically for autistic children. Blown away by the kids and environment, he wrote a script about a 20-something guy looking to get out of the city and taking the same job at the camp, and returned a year later to shoot it the film.

In the opening of the film, lead actor Matt Wolf encounters an autistic man on the subway that opens his eyes to that world.

The resulting film is PARADOX LAKE, a beautifully subtle drama, following Wolf as his life changes within the camp. Looking for a new world to escape to, he struggles with a tough counselor and tries to date another one, all while taking care of the autistic teens.

Some of the kids seem to have luck predicting events. This gets intense as Wolf befriends an autistic girl who is playing a hide-and-seek game of sorts. The new world Wolf is searching for finally shows up.

Reut does a wonderful job of mixing the narrative and the real world, balancing an interesting story with the deep, unique atmosphere of the camp. While the start of the film and overall plot is scripted, the film changed with the kids’ reactions and scenes and story elements were then improvised. Handheld cameras follow everyone, but the film is not messy. It actually flows quite smoothly in image and plot. Reut talks about how the style was affected by the situation.

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The camp kids knew a film was shooting, and their families gave permission, but it didn’t really change the kids’ daily routines. Reut knew this was better than bringing in all actors. Using the real camp environment and kids lends an undeniable authenticity to the film.

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The lead autistic girl who Wolf becomes intertwined with is a real camp kid, not an actor. After capturing some footage of her, Reut felt she could lend something special to the film and worked with her family on the scenes. This takes the film from a simple drama to a level of magical realism.

After a long editing process with all the raw footage, PARADOX LAKE premiered in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and later won Best Film at the Los Angeles Film Festival. LAKE then enjoyed a long festival life around the world and played on the Sundance Channel. Unfortunately, no distributors took a chance on the small film with no stars, and still has not played the art house circuit or come out on DVD.

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