“Bodies of Water”.is a story of a young man isolated by profound shame and fear of absolute rejection. It’s about longing for acceptance and the possibility of love, and, ultimately, seizing the moment to reach out to another human being.

Marsh is 24 years old, and he struggles with a tormenting secret. Feeling disconnected human relationships others take for granted, Marsh treads water in the often painful doldrums of everyday life. One evening, a spark ignites Marsh’s imagination of what could be and he embarks on a very private quest.

As the filmmaker, I hesitate to call this a “gay film”. Yes, Marsh is gay but the young man he ultimately meets and who is poised to change his life, may or may not be. Marsh’s struggle with loneliness, isolation, and his desire for a genuine human connection is universal.

Ellar Coltrane plays Marsh. The world watched Ellar grow up before its eyes, literally, in the award-winning film Boyhood. Ellar and I have known each other for eight years. We have forged a strong friendship and a unique bond which we dug into to find the emotional core of the film.

The look and tone of “Bodies of Water”. was strongly influenced by Tom Ford’s A Single Man. Thematically the stories are similar — but more importantly, Ford’s film beautifully captures visually both George’s (Colin Firth) inner world and the time period of the 1960’s.