A teenager sets out to win over his crush while on a float trip down the Potomac River, but when everything that can go wrong does go wrong, his manhood is put on the line.

Director's Biography:

Born and raised in rural Appalachia, NYC-based filmmaker Ethan Romaine seeks to use the sum of his experiences to tell hilariously human stories that show us all what we have in common rather than what sets us apart.

Director's Statement:

Lovers Leap is inspired by a very real event that happened to me in my hometown, the summer before my senior year of high school. I remember thinking to myself on that day, “what a good movie this would make.” So when it came time to create my senior thesis film at Tisch, where I had spent years writing stories about my home, I figured it was as good a time as any to crack open this particular story and see what was there.

Inspired by both my home of Western Maryland and the classic coming of age comedies that made me want to make movies in the first place, I made it a point to tell this story in a fresh way, unique from the student film pack. Taking full advantage of the pause on production, I spent a year rewriting and fine tuning the script in order to make it as tight and joke-filled as I could. I worked closely with my cinematographer and friend Benjy Berkowitz to shoot the movie in the style of a comedy, rather than an indie drama, while still capturing the natural beauty of the setting. This natural beauty was so important because the setting itself, with its quirky norms, serves as a key character to the story.

The characters and their relationship are all inspired by the people I grew up with. They are all imperfect and funny and real to my experience. Writing these characters and relationships allowed and encouraged me to explore many themes involved with adolescence, especially masculinity and insecurity and how these relate to our self-expression and to our relationships, both romantic and plutonic. I was so lucky to have these actors, all of whom gave their all to the project and achieved a chemistry as real as the ones that inspired the film. All I had to do was capture it on camera.

I am glad to say that the finished product is as heartfelt as it is silly, and it is my hope that audiences of all backgrounds will be able to relate to and laugh at this universally specific story of awkward teenage romance. I have dreamed of telling stories about my home for years, but this filmmaking experience has been better than I could have imagined. I hope you have as much fun watching this movie as we did making it.