Absolutely no sleep 'til Seattle

By Matthew Hughes

The glitz of the West Coast viewed from the derricks and cranes of New Jersey would drive any teenager to run away from home.

The short, “Before We Get to Seattle,” may be about a cross country road trip to Seattle, by way of New Jersey, but it was written, produced and filmed in Brooklyn by filmmaking team April Mosqus and Adam Linn.

Set in 1992, at the height of the grunge rock era, the short chronicles the desires of Chloe, Michelle and Leo, three teenagers who want to trade New Jersey for Seattle — basically it’s the Odyssey for gutter punks.

“You could call it a coming of age story, but I personally never like that term,” said Mosqus, who co-wrote and directed the film. “It’s about saying goodbye, how relationships change and how aspects of them continue.”

The 10-minute short was filmed at two Brooklyn locations, including a former high school in Greenpoint and the 24 Hour Prospect Park Deli at Prospect Park West and 16th street in Park Slope. Mosqus and Linn both live in South Park Slope and felt that Brooklyn could easily stand in for New Jersey.

“Since the film is set in an urban part of New Jersey, we knew the look would capture the essence. This allowed us to remain local in Brooklyn,” said Mosqus.
Presently the film is undergoing sound editing. Additional funds are also needed because of song licensing. Once post-production is complete it’s the goal of Mosqus and Linn to screen the film.

“It’s our job to ensure that the film is screened at the most prestigious film festivals, where a wide audience can appreciate it. The Brooklyn International Film Festival is definitely on our list, and we would be honored to screen there,” said Mosqus.

Mosqus and Linn have also written a screenplay called “Heartbreaker,” which touches on the same themes of “Before We Get to Seattle.” Mosqus and Linn want to work toward getting the full-length "Heartbreaker" produced.

“We hope that by screening ‘Before We Get to Seattle’ we’ll attract producers and talent who will want to work with us to get ‘Heartbreaker’ to the big screen,” said Mosqus.

Mosqus calls “Before We Get to Seattle” “a rock n’ roll dark comedy.” She is also thrilled about the early response to the short.

“Considering how successful the response has been to our Facebook fan page,” she said, “we know there is a huge audience hungry for a grunge rock film.”

“Before we Get to Seattle” was written, produced and filmed in Brooklyn by April Mosqus and Adam Linn. The main characters of Chole, Michelle and Leo are portrayed by Claire Buckingham, Claire Natale, and John Cappelli, respectively.

Photo by Sasha Maslov