Leaving small-town life in her dust, Adele moves wide-eyed to New York City, and her best friend Sara is stuck in their boring hometown. Separate for the first time in their lives, the film charts their new relationships, while beautiful background music sequences capture fleeting emotions as their lives move in unexpected directions. "Not Waving But Drowning" opens with the short film, "The Most Girl Part of You."—N. Emanuele
Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from twodifferent stories. The first is based on the short story The Most Girl Part of Youby the acclaimed American author, Amy Hempel. In the days after his mothercommits suicide, Big Guy and his best friend, Amy, begin to see each other innew ways. Dark yet sweet, the story brings rushing back the excitement of thosemoments when you know childhood is gone and your real life is just about tobegin.
The second story is less about growing up and more about growing out. Growingout of old friendships, growing out of your skin and growing out of who youthought you wanted to be.
Adele is dying to escape Bartow, FL. Driven by the promise of excitement, she moves to New York, leavingbehind her best friend, Sara. Wanting to take up space in the city of her dreams,but not knowing how, she finds herself racing in all the wrong directions.Ultimately, she makes an unlikely friendship at her new job that leavesher wondering if she knows what she wants at all.
Phone conversations chart their summer apart, Sara is stuck at home with herdepressed father, while her best friend lives a seemingly glamorous new life. Asthe summer progresses she becomes strangely liberated by the absence ofAdele. Working at a local retirement home, Sylvia, an elderly vixen, takes interest in her and she discovers new lifein her old town.
The prologue and feature are connected by the characters common discovery ofthe American Dilemma: the tear between longing for the past and the desire toexplore.
