“Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)” sparkles at Sundance premiere
We sat down with Arts Camp alumna and film director Sierra Falconer, as well as fellow Interlochen alumnus and actor Jim Kaplan (“The Holdovers”), to reflect on the film’s making, lakeside inspiration, and big themes.
A still from Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
In literature and film, the gentle lap of waves against the shore offers an enduring promise of peace and freedom. Camp alumna Sierra Falconer (IAC 07) explores this appeal in her directorial debut, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), in which four vignettes explore themes of belonging and coming of age. Principal photography took place on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts. Supported by fellow Camp alumna Kate Schnepf as production manager and recent Academy grad Jim Kaplan (IAC 16-17, 19-20; IAA 21-23) who stars as violin prodigy “Jun”, Falconer recently captained her film all the way to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where it met a positive critical reception. Falconer joins Kaplan in reflecting on the inspiration found at Interlochen, what it was like attending Sundance for the first time, and the themes that define the heart of Sunfish.
Falconer and Kaplan chat while filming on Interlochen's campus.
Finding inspiration under the stately pines
Long before she started writing her master’s thesis for UCLA, Falconer was clear on one thing: her debut film would be set in Interlochen.
“ My grandparents have a cottage on Green Lake, so I spent almost every summer there when I was growing up,” she remembers. “We would sail around, look at the campus, and go to the Arts Festival shows at Kresge.”
For her, Interlochen symbolized “the pinnacle of the arts scene”.
“I felt like all the great artists went there. That’s how it worked its way into my film—Interlochen is the place where artists find their voices and find themselves. And I think that's what it meant to me as an artist growing up in the area.”
Interlochen is the place where artists find their voices and find themselves. I think that's what it meant to me as an artist growing up in the area.
Falconer was just a second-grader when she attended Arts Camp, so she doesn’t remember very much about her experience there. But she definitely remembers where she sat in the orchestra.
“I had the last chair in the second violin—basically the worst spot you could be in,” she laughs. “It’s funny because in Sunfish, one of the stories is about a boy who is trying to get first chair and ultimately gets first chair.”
That boy is played by Kaplan, himself a real-life violin player who studied at Arts Academy. He started acting as a nine-year-old and soon made his way to Broadway and films. He’s best known for his role in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. Although he didn’t study acting during his time at Academy, he still found plenty of opportunities to develop his talents.
“ I often collaborated with my friends who were film students,” says Kaplan. “Sometimes they would have assignments where they’d recreate a scene from one of their favorite movies, like Winter’s Bone or Parasite, and I would play characters for them.”
I learned to let go of the competitive nature of art. It became more about realizing that other students loved the same things I did, and we could understand each other because we shared the same passion.
Although Kaplan’s character in the film is deeply concerned with artistic competition, his experience at the Academy taught him the opposite.
“I learned to let go of the competitive nature of art,” he says. “It became more about realizing that other students loved the same things I did, and we could understand each other because we shared the same passion.”
Kaplan says that he and Falconer bonded over their shared Interlochen experience, especially since principal filming took place on Interlochen’s campus.
“We talked about Interlochen a lot while I was preparing for the role. It felt like going back to my roots and living my past experiences, but getting to make some stuff up along the way,” he says.
The cast and crew of Sunfish stand on stage for a Q&A after the film's world premiere at Sundance.
“A dream come true”
Falconer, Kaplan, and a large portion of the cast and crew converged in Utah during the last week of January. Sundance was a chance for all of them to celebrate the film’s completion—and see how it would be received.
“Going to Sundance was a dream come true. It still doesn’t feel real,” Falconer reflects. “We had a big presence at the festival and it felt great reconnecting with everyone.”
All four of the film’s public screenings sold out, and Sunfish also garnered a flurry of positive criticism over the course of the week.
“ It was really exciting when the lights went down,” says Falconer. “Watching your film with a bunch of people who know nothing about it is a very special experience, because you see it through their eyes.”
Kaplan concurs. “Everything plays differently than you thought it would. Parts that you thought weren’t funny are suddenly funny again and everybody’s laughing.”
On the big screen, the themes Falconer’s team worked so hard to capture shone out true and clear.
“Sunfish is all about what it feels to grow up on the lake,” the director reflects. “The characters in each short find themselves in a moment of change. The water becomes a place of healing for them, and they all get into the lake at one point or another. It’s about those moments in childhood where something big happens, and you don’t even realize it till later.”
In the film, Kaplan’s character is struggling in his relationship with his overbearing mother, but finds friendship and acceptance at summer camp. When Kaplan thinks about what Sunfish means to him, he says it’s about connection.
“I think the overarching theme of all four shorts is finding belonging. Each character begins in an isolated state and then moves to a place where they’re more comfortable and connected to others.”
Falconer hopes that audiences walk away from the film feeling nostalgia and relaxation.
“I hope people feel comforted and think back to their childhood. I hope it's a warm experience, like sitting in the sun on a summer's day. I hope that people leave feeling more connected to their families and where they grew up.”
What’s next for these two Interlochen alums? Kaplan is focused on finishing up his freshman year at Brown University, but he’s been working on several projects in the meantime.
“I'm still auditioning and working on a few independent projects that I'm excited about,” he says. “I want to keep acting because I really enjoy the process of getting to know a character.”
Meanwhile, Falconer is looking toward her long-term goals and dreaming up her next film.
“A lot more seems possible since Sundance,” she says.
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