Yale Alumni Duo’s Film “Floating Carousel” Debuts at Woodstock Festival

Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers, both graduates of Yale University, premiered their feature film, Floating Carousel, at the Woodstock Film Festival on October 6, 2023. The film, a dark comedy, won the Ultra Indie award, highlighting its unique take on the complexities of modern dating.

The inspiration for Floating Carousel arose from an unusual coincidence in 2021, when Napier and Powers each experienced a date with the same man within days of each other after downloading the dating app Hinge. Napier recalled, “We realized he followed this psychopathically manipulated routine, and he had his script down to a T.” This eerie encounter sparked a broader exploration of patterns in contemporary dating that permeate their film.

Both directors forged their creative partnership during their time at Yale, majoring in theater and performance studies. They met on the first day of their freshman year and subsequently collaborated on multiple projects. Their senior thesis film, Voyeur, centered on theater students at Yale and was inspired by true events from 2014. The film earned accolades, including the award for best U.S. feature film and an audience award at the 2020 SoHo International Film Festival.

Post-graduation, Napier and Powers continued their collaboration with projects like the short film The Compound in 2021 and the comedy Victor Versus the Metaverse in 2022. Napier expressed the comfort of their shared history, stating, “Having met at Yale, we now have so much shared history and people in common.”

Exploring Modern Relationships

“We’re trying to explore this idea of having all these people all around you, but these fake intimacies sometimes make us feel closer than we are,” Powers said.

The film delves into the influence of app culture on contemporary relationships, describing how these platforms create transactional dynamics. Napier added that these “fake intimacies” can lead to feelings of loneliness despite being surrounded by potential connections.

“The film forces you to think about your own inner life and makes you recognize that even with the shortcomings of being human, we’re all worthy of love and connection,” said actor Glori Dei Filippone, who plays a character navigating the modern dating landscape.

The cast of Floating Carousel features a diverse array of characters, including a Gender Studies master’s student, a messy philanderer, an in-denial sugar baby, an aspiring cabaret artist, and a professional cuddler. Each character finds themselves entangled in a web of dystopian dating scenarios, reflecting the film’s exploration of the darker aspects of human connection.

Napier and Powers aim to present these themes through a lens of humor and satire. Powers emphasized the importance of comedy in their work, stating, “We really want there to be comedy and levity at the heart of our work always because we think that actually coming together, laughing at things that are scarily familiar to people is how we can connect and talk about some of the weird things we’re experiencing today.”

The Woodstock Film Festival, established in 2000, serves as a platform for independent filmmakers, offering a space for innovative storytelling. As Napier and Powers continue to explore the intricacies of relationships through their films, Floating Carousel marks another significant milestone in their collaborative journey.