‘Geographically Desirable’ Floyd

“Geographically Desirable,” a romantic comedy written and directed by Mike Kravinsky, a retired ABC-TV editor, premieres June 7 in a free screening at Chantilly Farm on Franklin Pike.

The film tells the story of a young woman torn between a TV job in Washington and a romantic entanglement that emerges when she travels to Floyd for the funeral of an uncle who leaves her his home and the temptation of a new life in the country.

“The reason I picked Floyd was not just the location, which was the visually excellent, but Floyd itself was so welcoming,” Kravinsky says.  “To be able to shoot in the Floyd Country Store, Oddfellas, New Mountain Mercantile, and Republic of Floyd along with street shots, really helped fill out the film and give the story more depth.”

The film features Floyd as a town where friendliness abounds and everyone knows each other and makes newcomers feel welcome.

“I remember the first time I came to Floyd to check it out as a location,” Kravinsky says. “I just remember the people were so friendly.  I was having dinner at Oddfellas at the bar upstairs and ended up getting into a long conversation with people sitting next to me.”

One “scene setting” in the film shows two Alpacas walking down the street.

That’s right: Alpacas from Bob and Tia James at Ocotilla’s Mountainside Alpacas.

“Jason Gallimore calls me to check in,” Kravinsky says.  “At the end of the conversation he says, ‘Oh by the way, Melodie (Pogue) wants to know if you want to use the Alpacas she emailed you about.’

“I told him I thought she was joking with me! Jason said ‘no,’ she was serious!  I was like ‘well, yeah.”  I immediately went back and wrote in a moment that we could use in the film.  It’s a short moment but it really helps set up what the town is like in Geographically Desirable.”

The crew shot the film on digital single lens reflex cameras, the Canon 5D MKIII.

“The footage came out great,” he says.

After returning to the National Capital Region to edit the film, Kravinsky found he needed additional footage to help set a scene so he contacted a Floyd photographer and videographer who also uses a Canon 5D MKIII to shoot the extra footage.

“The fact that the residents of Floyd wanted to participate as extras and some speaking roles was so amazingly helpful,” he says. “Basically, Floyd was not just a great location for the look of a small, quirky town, but the support was got was superb.”

The film screens at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Chantilly.  The rain date is Sunday, June 8.  Bring your own lawn chairs and BBQ, popcorn and cotton candy will be sold on site.

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