ALYSSA HAGEN
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Tangleheart Film

SFS Pitch
Here's a sneak peek at Tangleheart. It's a story about two sisters who are forced back home for the summer to rescue their beloved, but failing, family dairy. With dad refusing to confront the death of his wife and a rogue farmhand with a substance abuse problem, the girls have to agree on their priorities; both together and apart to build a foundation for the rest of their lives.

This film is a love letter to Washington state, showcasing the natural beauty from Eastern Washington, across the mountain passes, to the Snohomish Valley and into Seattle. This isn't grandpa's farm anymore. With technology and globalization rapidly altering the rural lifestyle, American farmers are constantly recalibrating to preserve their way of life, without threatening their authenticity.  

If you would like to read the spec script, please contact me via LinkedIn.

FADE IN:
Scene One
EXT. MORNING, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
Pullman, Washington; Sunday May 10th, 2020, 8am. Rural, college town.
Opening credits: When Gentry Plays Guitar by Jessica Andrews  Close up of Marielle's hand dropping a door key etched with 516, onto the countertop. The camera pans out as Marielle turns away from it, locks the door from the inside. Camera is outside; shows the empty apartment as Marielle shuts the door.

Marielle, a blond 21-year-old in a Washington State University (WSU) t-shirt drives her 1966 Ford F100 truck through town. She pulls away from a drive-through coffee.

MARIELLE: Thank you! (to barista)
She precariously places three cups of coffee, on the floor of the truck, which she’s trying not to spill. Two of them are in shoes and the third is wedged awkwardly between a t-shirt and a bag.

The truck bed is packed halfway with moving boxes. WSU students are moving out for the summer. It’s a hot, blue sky day. Birds tweet, cars drive by. Two hungover guys in thrashed graduation attire stumble down the sidewalk. Parents of another graduate are packing a moving truck up outside a student residence nearby.
As the opening credits fade Marielle turns the corner in front of a sorority house and one coffee cup tips over.

MARIELLE: No! Damn it.
She parks in front of the building and cleans up the mess as Abigail and Vika, two of her sorority sisters exit the front door and approach. Abigail is carrying a cardboard box with “Marielle Thomlinson” written on the side.  Marielle turns around with an old t-shirt sopping with spilled coffee.

MARIELLE: I thought I had it under control.
ABIGAIL: Minor setback. (She puts the box of stuff into the bed of the truck.)
VIKA: Happy graduation, sis. 
They hug and Marielle hands both girls a cup of coffee. She picks up the remaining empty cup, tosses it into the bed of the truck.

MARIELLE: (She crosses her arms and leans up against the truck gazing up at the sorority house.) Thanks for reminding me I still had stuff here. 
VIKA: It gave us a chance to say goodbye.
MARIELLE: I’m gonna miss you guys. How will you survive your senior year without me?
ABIGAIL: We’ll see you at the lake this summer, right? My parents got us a big condo.
VIKA: You can bring your sister. Have you talked to her yet?
MARIELLE: (She looks down at her feet wishing she could avoid the subject.) I texted her. She didn’t text me back.
VIKA: But did you CALL her?
MARIELLE: She wouldn’t answer anyway. Living with her again is going to be... (she crosses her arms and shakes her head)
ABIGAIL: (Supportively.) Everything will be fine! 
Marielle sighs reluctantly and fidgets with her keys. 

MARIELLE: I gotta get to the vet. You guys are the best.

Scene Two
INT. MORNING, SNOHOMISH, WASHINGTON COFFEE SHOP
A few minutes later.
Closeup of a girl’s hand with black nail polish holds her phone as she scrolls through Marielle’s photos. The photos include several selfies that Marielle posted with her two sorority sisters. #WSU #DeltaNu #sisters #gocougs #2020grad
VIOLET: Here we go.

Scene Three
INT. MORNING, PULLMAN VETERINARIAN

A few minutes later.
Marielle pulls into the vet parking lot and makes an outgoing call on her cell phone. She puts the phone on speaker and sets it down while she messes with her hair, putting it up in a messy bun. 
(ring, ring)
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