Note: The film The Tributaries contains mature subject matter.
The Tributaries, a new film produced by longtime RI filmmaker Michael Corrente, is screening as part of the Rhode Island Film Festival on Thursday, August 8 at 6:30 PM in the RISD Auditorium in Providence. The movie is the first full-length feature directed by Kat Gueli, who has crafted a compelling story on the impact of mental health on young adults. We met Gueli and Corrente on a recent morning to learn more about the film.
“I started film school in 2014 at Long Island University,” Gueli noted. “Just before I entered college in August 2014, one of my close friends passed away – he took his own life. So I started writing to immortalize him. That’s how the script was born.”
Gueli worked with her professor Lisa Robinson, who guided her through the script. “It was a healing experience for me, to immortalize my friend, to work through the anxiety and sadness I was feeling during that time,” added Gueli.
Films about mental health challenges are difficult to make; quite simply, the subject is often difficult to talk about and these films don’t always have a happy ending. “Ten years ago, when I wrote the film, you couldn’t even talk about mental health. Now, there’s this awareness, which is so incredible,” said Gueli. “There is so much of me, my experience, and the grief that I felt in the film.”
The Tributaries was filmed in 2022, with young actors, many who were added to the cast on backstage, a film industry recruitment site. “I cast Catharine Daddario (Robbie) in 2018; she’s been on the project for years now, waiting through the pandemic to film. She adds so much to the character, I re-wrote much of it for her, we just connected and became really good friends during the pandemic. I also cast Sky Nelson (Drew) on backstage.”
Kelly Rutherford (Cecelia), known for her work in Melrose Place, Gossip Girl, and Dynasty, also joined the cast. “I reached out to her agent, and she got on the phone with me and poured her heart out,” said Gueli. “She was so encouraging.”
“It was incredible working with this group of actors,” continued Gueli. “It really felt like a family. All the actors had experienced mental health struggles. It made the performances that much more authentic. We want people who feel this way to be heard and to recognize themselves in the film. We were very unapologetic.”
“Films that deal with this material, you can say they are difficult or don’t get made, until they are really great,” says Corrente. “Cuckoo’s Nest, Girl Interrupted, Forest Gump; there are many movies made this way.”
“It’s really about the human condition. It is a sad film, but there is so much light in it. Whether you are grieving or whatever you’re dealing with, there is light in your life,” said Gueli. We want people who feel this way to be heard and to recognize themselves in the film. We were very unapologetic.”
“it’s an important film about family, an important film about humanity,” adds Corrente. “I think it’s an important message and conversation that many young people in this country need to hear, need to see, need to be able to talk about, and identify with emotionally.”
“For me to read a script like this and get behind this film 1000% is a testament to the writing and what Kat did as a director with that cast,” continued Corrente. “It does not look like a first-time feature. That looks like a very surehanded director who has a lot of experience working with actors. It looks amazing, the framing the composition, looks like a person much more experienced did it.”
One notable highlight in the film is the soundtrack, which includes songs by James Brown, Hanson, and Van Morrison, who approved his classic song “Into the Mystic” for the film. “When she sent me the cut, I thought Van Morrison – he is very particular about lending his music to any other medium.” said Corrente. “We’re very blessed that he decided to let us use that iconic song. Having done Outside Providence, I knew that the artist has to watch the scene, to see how the music is being used in the film. Not only is it a Van Morrison song, but it’s ‘Into the Mystic,’ said Corrente.
The movie soundtrack, composed by Dylan Nealy is also unique. “He wanted to make the music intimate and an emotional reflection of these character’s journey, what the sound of their mental health is like,” said Gueli. “Sound and music worked really well together to come up with what a panic attack sounds like. And how doom sounds for each character, those heartbeats in the shower, it was an incredible experience working that out with people who have experience anxiety.”
Click here for more on The Tributaries.
