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SFFILM Festival

Ping Pong Summer

Directed by Michael Tully

USA | 92

4 May
Sun, May 4, 2014 at 6:30 pm PT

Description

A 13-year-old experiences a life-changing summer when his family leaves the confines of the suburbs for the open-ended possibilities of a beach vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, in this comedy set in 1985. Soon after arriving in the resort community with his parents (John Hannah, ‘80s teen star Lea Thompson) and his dour goth sister Michelle (Helena May Seabrook), shy Rad Miracle (newcomer Marcello Conte) acquires a new best friend in fellow obsessive hip-hop fan Teddy (Myles Massey), crushes on seemingly unobtainable Stacey (Emmi Shockley) and makes an enemy of snobby rich kid Lyle (Joseph McCaughtry). The stage is set for an unforgettable summer filled with awkward family gatherings, lazy afternoons spent at the local arcade, pre-gangsta hip-hop (blaring out of boom boxes the size of small children) and the titular ping pong. With an affectionate nod to everything ‘80s—including that pinnacle of the era’s underdog movies, The Karate Kid, complete with a Mr. Miyagi-type mentor in Susan Sarandon as a table tennis enthusiast who schools Rad in the sport—this humorous coming-of-age tale offers a seemingly endless stream of pop-culture inflected delights along with affecting observations about families, friendship, tolerance and acceptance. –Mel Valentin

Director Michael Tully

Michael Tully was named one of Filmmaker Magazine‘s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2006, the same year he made his feature debut with Cocaine Angel (SFIFF 2006). He followed that drama with Silver Jew (2007), a documentary about musician and poet David Berman and his band. Maryland born and raised, Tully not only wrote and directed Septien (2011), his third film, but also costarred in it. His fourth feature, Ping Pong Summer, was the recipient of a $50,000 SFFS/KRF postproduction grant. Since 2008, Tully has contributed to HammerToNail.com, a site dedicated to ambitious cinema, as a writer and editor.

Trailer

//player.vimeo.com/video/93671776?autoplay=1​

Film Details

Language English

Year 2014

Runtime 92

Country USA

Director Michael Tully

Producer George Rush

Writer Michael Tully

Editor Marc Vives

Cinematographer Wyatt Garfield

Music Michael Montes

Cast Susan Sarandon, Amy Sedaris, Lea Thompson, John Hannah