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Trip Sitters

In this slightly fictitious Berlin, drugs are decriminalized but the new drug tourist expats aren't exactly experts. Enter Trip Sitters, a small, run-down operation that provides a babysitter-like service to drug noobs or lonely people. Run by a hippie, a research student, and an alcoholic, things don't always go as planned. Sometimes the client needs a designated driver, sometimes they need someone to call the paramedics. Each episode dives into new areas of the city, exploring the lives of amateur pscyhonauts and the trip sitters who have to come along for the ride. Just like real life, things can easily go from fun, to dark, to something completely new.

  • Cody Swanson
    Director
    Mostly Awake
  • Cody Swanson
    Writer
    Mostly Awake
  • Mario Andreas Kühn
    Writer
  • Nuno Martini
    Writer
  • Chuck Wolfgang
    Producer
  • Patrick Cliff
    Key Cast
    "Nic"
  • Hannah Prasse
    Key Cast
    "Vic"
  • Christoph Fortmann
    Key Cast
    "Terrance"
  • Andreas Kühn
    Director of Photography
  • Nuno Martini
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Dry Comedy, Dramedy
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Super 35
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Cody Swanson

Director Cody Swanson grew up in Louisville, KY and moved to New York City after university. After directing and shooting music videos for local Brooklyn bands, he made his first feature film, a dark comedy called 'Mostly Awake.' The film is about a young man who ends up following a mystical homeless street preacher who promises a way to get the man's life back on track through a series of random and absurd tasks. Over the next four years Cody continued making music videos and shorts, including a 10 episode webseries,'Counter Intuitive' based on his experiences working in a Brooklyn Cafe. In 2017 he and his wife moved to Berlin, Germany where he works as an editor and colorist. Sometimes he enjoys writing and directing, too.

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Director Statement

Trip Sitters began as a feature film concept back in 2014, with shooting to take place in a small town in upstate New York state. After re-writes, re-scheduling, and eventually a move across the ocean, the idea has evolved to better fit a serial format. In this slightly fictional version of Berlin, Germany, drugs are legal but the new drug tourist expats aren't exactly experts. Enter Trip Sitters, a small, run down operation that provides a babysitter-like service to drug noobs or lonely people. Sometimes the client needs a designated driver, sometimes they need someone to call the paramedics. The city of Berlin, real or imagined, provides an endless and colorful backdrop of hilarious and terrifying situations that dive into the nuanced and expansive world of drugs and the people who love them.
This short is a proof of concept with the potential to
develop into a series of vignettes following the main characters and various new customers around the city of Berlin, Germany as they encounter both intense and absurd situations.