ELÉONORE HENDRICKS KENTUCKER AUDLEY LINDSAY BURDGE

COME DOWN MOLLY

A psychedelic comedy about finding yourself

80 Minutes, Color, Unrated

Press Contact: Kia M. Brooks

Kia.m.brooks@gmail.com 215-837-1643

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CAST Molly - Eléonore Hendricks Patrick - Kentucker Audley

Amy - Lindsay Burdge Shelton - Jason Shelton John - John Anderson Jason - Jason Selvig Sam - Sam Sundos

Ben - Benjamin Roberts Dave - David Jette

Molly’s Father - Terrence Montgomery

CREW Writer/Director - Gregory Kohn

Producers - Gregory Kohn, George Manatos, Jane Houle, Mara Auster, Chris Mosson

Director of Photography - Chris Mosson Editor - George Manatos

Editor - Will Lehman

SYNOPSIS Come Down Molly is the story of Molly (Eléonore Hendricks), a new mother who's

unable to connect with her infant son, feels abandoned by her husband Patrick (Kentucker Audley), and judged by her sister Amy (Lindsay Burdge). Noticing that her life has somehow transformed into a mundane routine of caretaking, she decides to run off. She seeks out her oldest friends, a group of fun-loving boys who are enjoying a relaxing weekend in the Rocky Mountains away from their wives and their jobs. When one friend suggests taking magic mushrooms, Molly is quickly coerced into joining her friends on a vivid psychedelic adventure. As the drugs slowly set in, the group begins to bridge subtle spiritual connections while exploring the intimacies of the natural world around them. When Molly's "trip" turns into a dark out-of-body experience, she is forced to confront the difficult choice between reverting to the carefree woman she once was, or going back to the family that she loves.

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DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

This all started with an idea for a movie character based on my older sister. Growing up, my sister was always a wild-child. She was the envy of her girlfriends and the desire of her boyfriends. She was smart, beautiful, and talented. She seemed unstoppable. Then, at 24, she became pregnant. She and her now-husband Patrick moved to Memphis to be closer to family. They worked odd jobs and struggled to make ends meet. Debts piled up. My sister put herself through dental school while they raised their amazing son. I was never prouder of her than during those difficult years.

I noticed, however, that she had lost a part of herself. I came to find, through many female friends, that this is an all-too-common occurrence amongst new mothers. In the same manner that men grapple with fatherhood, women often struggle with their newfound caretaking responsibilities of motherhood. But the latter is a story that’s rarely told. It’s rarely even discussed. Women are expected to sacrifice everything for their children, or risk being seen as unfit. I wanted to explore that notion, but struggled to find the story.

That’s when I took psychedelic drugs for the first time. My friends convinced me one weekend, even though I was scared. I thought I would freak out and fall into an inescapable nightmare of my own fears. Yet, to my surprise, it was one of the most life-affirming experiences I’ve ever had. I didn’t have visions of serpents, demons, or tie-dye vortices, but rather felt a spiritual closeness to my friends and to the natural world around me. During my “trip,” I remember saying that this was the plot for my character. It wasn’t long after that I thought of Eléonore and Molly. Eléonore played Molly in my first film, and both she and the character seemed perfect for this spin-off concept. In the prior film, Molly, who was once a wild-child herself, had just moved away from the city to start a grown-up life with her husband Patrick. It made sense that they would have a child by now, and that Molly would be struggling with her new roles as both mother and wife.

Taking hallucinogens was an interesting device to illustrate Molly’s loss of identity, as well as the dangers of an idealized life. When you’re experiencing an altered state of consciousness, it’s difficult not to ask yourself the big questions like “who am I?” or “why am I here?” It’s also hard not to feel a sense of oneness or unity with everything around you. Since Molly was grappling with the most natural of all connections, that between mother and child, it made sense that she would question not only her role as a woman, but also her place in the universe.

With Eléonore as Molly, I knew the movie would be anchored by her lead performance. Kentucker and Lindsay joined later, and I cannot imagine the movie without them. The biggest challenge became the film’s drug sections. This was not to be a movie where the trees morph into snakes through CGI. Likewise, the performances would need to feel authentic to the psychedelic experience without being forced. It was imperative that Molly’s guy friends felt like an actual group of friends as opposed to actors pretending. In order to do that, I used my real-life friends and I think their closeness with each other reads in the film. Also to help the accuracy of the drug scenes, we shot the film experimentally, similar to a documentary. The actors were given complete freedom to wander about and explore our beautiful Colorado location. Our cameras were set up to simply capture their actions. From that, Molly’s story with her family was written and filmed months later.

I never imagined I would make a film like COME DOWN MOLLY. In many ways, it came about without my intention. So much of directing is about control. With this film, I was forced to let go, so that Molly and the other characters could lead the way.

-Gregory Kohn

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CAST BIOS Eléonore Hendricks - MOLLY

Eléonore Hendricks is an actress and casting director based out of New York City. She is known for her performances and collaboration with the Safdie Brothers in their films The Pleasure of Being Robbed, Daddy Longlegs and Heaven Knows What. Other films include The Black Balloon, Kuichisan, Northeast, and Bad Fever. She was the casting director as well as acting coach on Beasts of the Southern Wild, working closely with Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry. Kentucker Audley - PATRICK

Kentucker Audley is a filmmaker and actor based in New York City. His acting credits include Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Sun Don’t Shine, The Sacrament and Bad Fever. He has directed films such as Open Five and Open Five 2. Kentucker is also the creator of NoBudge, an online screening venue for new indie films.

Lindsay Burdge - AMY

Lindsay Burdge is an actress, producer, and casting director who has starred in films screened at Tribeca, Sundance, and SXSW Film Festivals. Credits include A Teacher and First Winter as well as the upcoming The Midnight Swim and The Invitation.

Jason Shelton - SHELTON

Jason Shelton is an actor based in New York City. Film/TV credits include Inside Llewyn Davis (Coen Brothers), We Need To Talk About Kevin (Dir. Lynne Ramsay, starring TIlda Swinton), Christmas, Again, Bodies In Irreversible Detriment and Pan Am. He is also active in off-broadway theater productions and workshops.

John Anderson - JOHN

John Anderson is an actor from Gaithersburg, MD. Film/TV credits include 30 Rock, Mozart In The Jungle, Let's Not Panic, The Onion Sports Dome and Preoccupied. He is a member of The Story Pirates and he teaches chess to 3-year-old kids in NYC.

Jason Selvig - JASON

Jason Selvig is an actor based in Brooklyn, NY. He has appeared in such features as Tribeca Film’s Northeast, Sleepwalk with Me, Summer of Blood, and Brendan Gibbons’ Preoccupied. He co-created MTV’s sketch comedy show North Palm Wrestling as well as the guerrilla comedy duo The Good Liars, whose work can be seen at GoodLiars.com.

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CREW BIOS Gregory Kohn - Writer, Director, Producer

Gregory’s first feature, Northeast, a “vividly natural portrayal” of an aimless playboy, was part of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and later distributed by Tribeca Film. After Northeast, Gregory directed numerous music videos, most notably for the band Sleigh Bells. He also directed for television, including true-life crime shows for networks such as ID, Oxygen, and The Travel Channel. From these jobs, he was able to pursue his own artistic endeavors, including the project that ultimately became his second feature. That film, Come Down Molly, will premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Gregory was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jane and his dog Richard. George Manatos - Producer, Editor

George Manatos is a Brooklyn-based editor, producer and director. He has edited television shows (Discovery ID, TLC, History Channel), feature documentaries, as well as his first narrative feature in 2013 (a film he also directed), Red Right Return, which will have its festival premiere in 2015.

Jane Houle - Producer, Line Producer

Jane is a producer and photographer based in Los Angeles. She has worked on commercial projects for brands such as Estée Lauder, CoverGirl, Jawbone and Vogue. Come Down Molly is her first feature film.

Chris Mosson - Director of Photography, Producer

Chris grew up in Scotland inspiring his visual story-telling style. He attended film school in San Francisco and currently resides in Seattle. Chris has done commercial work for various brands such as Dove skincare, Nike, Google, and The New Yorker. Come Down Molly is his second feature film as Director of Photography. Mara Auster - Production Designer, Producer

Mara Auster grew up running wild in the woods of Colorado and currently resides in Seattle. She is a producer, production designer, art director and editor. Her most recent project, The World Wars, was nominated for an Emmy in 2014. Come Down Molly is her second feature film.