FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Welcome to Bishop County.
A town set in the mid-90s, where residents face the impending uncertainty of Y2K. The quaint neighborhood grocery store, church, local pizza shop and rural roads give the illusion of a community in its own bubble, separate from the rest of the world; the residents living in a sort of “fishbowl,” if you will.
At the center of it are the Simon sisters, three young women dealing with the tragic loss of their mother, the psychological decline of their father and the struggles of living in a town that watches their every move.
In reality, it’s the late 2010s and Bishop County is a fictional town - a hodgepodge of locations in Frederick County, Ellicott City and Baltimore - and the backdrop for “Fishbowl,” an independent feature film that after roughly four years in the making is set for debut next week.
“Even from the first word that was written on the page it felt like it was always still going to be a pipe dream,” said Stephen Kinigopoulos, a writer and director of the film who grew up in Ellicott City.
“And until now it’s like it’s really happening and you know we’re just grateful to … shoot in our hometown and neighboring towns with the people we love, with communities that helped mold us into the people we are today, it’s a really hometown, grassroots achievement … and I’m excited that the world gets to see it.”
Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen’s sister, also served as a director and photographer for the film and was part of the team that helped it come to fruition along with other writers, directors, producers and more.
The film has ties to Frederick County, with several scenes filmed locally. Some members of the cast and crew also hail from Frederick County and other regional areas, with several alums of “The Wire” on that list as well.
FAMILIAR LANDMARKS
Work on “Fishbowl” began in 2016, with a script that was at first set primarily in Ellicott City. Not long after diving in, the filmmakers decided they wanted to expand the movie’s location, and Frederick County was a natural fit.
“There were a lot of different places that sort of worked into the story,” said Carl Glorioso, a Frederick County resident and a producer on the film. “If you watch the film, they all kind of seamlessly cut together and all look like they’re in the same place, so it definitely has a small town vibe to it.”
The Kinigopoulos siblings - who grew up in entertainment and even worked with their parents, Janice and George, on “Fishbowl”- were happy to film in Frederick County, a place they know well having grown up in nearby Howard County.
“We found it to be really beautiful, but still suburban,” said Alexa Kinigopoulos. “There’s a lot to Frederick, and I think just filming there, there were so many options and it was all so incredibly aesthetically pleasing to us. We thought that Frederick could be a lot of different places, but it could also be this small town that we were really trying to curate in ‘Fishbowl,’ in the movie.”
Trout’s market in Woodsboro, St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor Catholic Church near Buckeystown and Starvin Marvin in Frederick are a few of the places Frederick County residents will recognize in the film. Glorioso said most of the driving scenes also took place on Frederick County roads, the town of Woodsboro serves as the opening shot, and some filming was done at a home in Buckeystown. They also filmed in various locations in Ellicott City and at the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore, which closed this past June.
FAMILIAR FACES
Frederick County residents may also recognize familiar faces in scenes of “Fishbowl,” as Glorioso said many of the extras were locals, and one of the main actresses, Caroline Coleman, is a Frederick resident and Urbana High School grad.
Coleman plays Jessa Simon, the youngest of the Simon sisters who is mute throughout the film due to mental trauma.
“She is struggling to find her identity under the strict expectations of her father,” Coleman said via email of Jessa. “Although she does not talk, she is an intuitive character that understands the strained social dynamics that are happening around her.”
Coleman graduated from Urbana in 2019 and has a background in acting and singing. Today, she attends New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. With “Fishbowl,” she said she gleaned inspiration and skills from the talented people who worked on the film and enjoyed filming in familiar places.
“I’ve lived in Frederick County most of my life, so many of the locations already felt like home to me,” she said. “Starvin Marvin, the pizzeria in the movie, was always one of my favorite places to order pizza. I used the experiences that I already had and translated them into Jessa’s character.”
The Kinigopoulos siblings had similar nostalgia with the locations and especially loved filming a feature so close to home with their family and friends, a rarity in their lives these days. Today, the siblings live in Nashville where they spend much of their time on music video sets, having worked with well-known artists, including Little Big Town and Kacey Musgraves, but filming a feature in their hometown was a different type of rewarding experience.
“When you want to be a filmmaker, one of your ultimate dreams is to make a movie, and to make one in your hometown, with your family and friends and other talented individuals … it’s weird because it’s something you really cherish,” said Stephen Kinigopoulos.
“When you’re doing it, now looking back, I wish I would have soaked it in more during the actual process,” he continued. “You’re trying to make a movie, it’s work, it’s also enjoyable, but it will always hold a special place, as cheesy as it sounds, but it’s still the truth.”
Alexa Kinigopoulos seconded her brother’s remarks.
“I pretty much feel the exact same way, just being able to be present and have a fun experience and still trying to focus,” she said.
Other big names in “Fishbowl” include several alums of “The Wire,” namely Janice Kinigopoulos - Alexa and Stephen’s mother - who was part of the crew, and actors Aaron Marcus, Bobby Brown, Susan Rome, Connie Bowman, Lance Lewman, Jill Redding and William Thomas. George Pelecanos, an award-winning writer of “The Wire” and co-creator of the HBO series “The Deuce,” also had a hand in “Fishbowl” as a producer.
The film was released on iTunes, Apple TV, Amazon and other streaming platforms last week.
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