Our story takes place at a summer sleepaway camp, inspired by my own time at camp as a young girl. Like myself, our protagonist Margot is a biracial girl in a predominantly white space. Camp can be a bit of a bait and switch–it’s objectively chock full of amazing experiences for kids, but none of them are fun when you feel alone. And sometimes, even when you have friends, you still feel alone. 

This frustration consumes Margot, and manifests into a fixation on the “perfect” girl. While Margot stumbles over her words and doesn’t know how to find a way in with the cabin, Felicity has the perfect phrase ready for every situation and never seems to feel awkward in her own body. Felicity isn’t perfect, and her life isn’t either, but Margot can’t see that. She only sees the belonging she’s missing out on, and it tears her apart–especially because Felicity is the only one of the girls who extends an olive branch and makes an effort to include her. All of her feelings concentrate onto Felicity’s prosthetic eye, the one source of her “imperfection.”

As the two girls grow closer, Margot’s feelings become more complicated as she tries to reconcile with the object of her hatred and the best friend she has at camp being the same person. It drives her to make a horrible mistake in her desperation, one that will irreparably alter both girls. 

There are two kinds of people in this film. KIDS and ADULTS.

We live in the world of KIDS, and the story and camera lens are always from their point of view.

ADULTS don’t belong in this world. They don’t understand what the kids are going through, and therefore are relegated to the background or otherwise cropped out. We might see shoulders or legs or hands, but no faces, or at least none that aren’t blurry. It’s a bit of a Peanuts thing. 

Margot is an 11 year old biracial girl and our protagonist. She is shy and detail oriented, an avid reader, and has a wry sense of humor hidden under her quiet exterior. In the unfamiliar environment of camp, she finds herself on the periphery of the social circle, unable to break through. The only person who reaches out to her is: 

The 12 year old supernova of camp. Felicity is kind, genuine, and humble, despite her high status in the cabin and her wealthy background. Surrounded by fair-weather friends, she is drawn to Margot who is unflinchingly honest, sharp and observant. Felicity is missing an eye and uses a prosthetic, irritated by everyone’s resistance to address it while simultaneously gawking at her.

Margot’s mother, who supports her desire to go to sleepaway camp but worries how she’ll fare being away from home for the first time. She cautions Margot about her hair and how it can easily tangle without proper care—a skill Margot has not learned yet.

The campers are a loud, close-knit group of girls who have been going to the same sleepaway program together for years now. Together, they make up the world that Margot is left out of. 

The counselor is a well meaning young adult who’s pretty blissfully unaware of the social complications of a cabin full of preteen girls.

Felicity has been a long time coming. The story first took form in a short prose piece I wrote for a class my senior year of college. My professor remarked that it read very cinematically, and she could envision it as a short film. I said “cool!” and left it alone for over a year. It originally took place at school, involved a time skip and relied heavily on the narrator’s internal monologue, so I dismissed it.  When I visited home over this past summer, however, I started to reminisce about my time at sleepaway camp and my mom reminded me of how alone I’d felt despite having made friends there.

I had entirely forgotten, but pieces were clicking into place in my mind. The missing piece was the change of scenery— so much could be instantly conveyed from the perspective of a new girl at a sleepaway camp that would otherwise take several scenes of setup for a school story. A summer camp setting was nostalgic, vibrant, and unique. I could fuse this character with myself and convey an aspect of my experience being biracial in a predominantly white setting, adding to her loneliness and mounting resentment. After a lot of staring at my computer screen and a few lightning-strike writing sessions, the script was done. 

I’m still learning new things about taking care of my curly hair today. It’s beautiful, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I certainly didn’t feel that way as a kid. I never had someone to teach me how to style it properly. It was worse when I was away from home– my mom braided my hair tightly to keep it protected during my time at camp only for me to be forced to take it out on day one for a mandatory lice check, a scene that meant a lot to me to include in the script. 

It’s lonely to be a young girl already. Comparison is everywhere you look, both self inflicted and something pushed onto you by others. Emotions are all consuming, a language you haven’t learned yet. You spend so much time thinking about your own shortcomings that you can’t understand that the people you idolize aren’t perfect either. It’s kind of become my life’s mission to make this age group, 8-13, feel understood on screen. Especially the little girls who look like me :’)

I’m really excited (and nervous) to explore these aspects of myself through storytelling. I’m thrilled to be a director again, for the first time since my undergraduate thesis, Moonglow (pictured below). I'll be making something I’m proud of with a team I love, and I know we’re going to have the time of our lives at camp. 

Love, 

Sky 

We want to make the world of camp come to life– it’ll be constantly busy and loud, populated by joyful young girls folding cootie catchers, laughing and shouting over one another, starting pillow fights, and all the best parts of summer rolled into twelve minutes. The setting and production design will feel messy and lived in, and the tone will feel nostalgic and warm. We want the audience to have the same yearning to be a part of everything that Margot does.

You can help by donating to this fundraiser to help us reach our goal!

You can share the link to the fundraiser on social media or with your friends, family, coworkers, or even sworn enemies! We don’t care! 

If you want to follow Felicity’s journey from script to screen, all production details, updates, and information will be shared primarily through @skysplanet on Instagram, the home for all creative projects made by me, Sky Cole! 

"But, Sky! How can I possibly wait for Felicity to be made? Where do I go if I want more art and writing from you RIGHT NOW?"

You can head on over to my Substack, where I post short stories, personal essays, and the like every other Tuesday! It’s totally free to subscribe (unless, you know, you feel inclined to be a paid subscriber) and you don’t need an account– if you add your email my newsletter will go straight to your inbox! 

https://substack.com/@skycole