Finding Your Place at Camp: Rachel Israel’s “The Floaters” Premieres at Woodstock Film Festival

Alex Winslow Saturday, October 18, 2025 Content Leave a comment

Rachel Israel returns to the director’s chair with “The Floaters,” premiering on the East Coast at the Woodstock Film Festival on October 17, 2025. The film follows Nomi, played by Jackie Tohn, a former rock band member who finds herself back at her childhood Jewish summer camp as a counselor. She’s assigned to a group of outsider teens who don’t quite fit in anywhere else. Israel, known for her work on “Keep the Change,” assembles an ensemble cast including Sarah Podemski, Aya Cash, Seth Green, and Steve Guttenberg. The story explores what happens when you’re forced to confront the places and people you thought you’d left behind. Nomi navigates rival camps, old wounds, and the challenge of helping kids find their footing while she’s still searching for her own. Following the New York run, “The Floaters” will cross the country to make its West Coast debut at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The Woodstock premiere takes place at 2:15 PM at Tinker Street Theater, with a Q&A session afterward. This premiere launches a new story from Israel’s creative vision, spotlighting New York as a springboard before arriving to Southern California audiences.

Q. What inspired you to set this story at a Jewish summer camp, and do you have personal experiences from camp that shaped the film?

Rachel Israel: I never went to camp myself, but I had always been curious about it. When I read the script for THE FLOATERS, I just loved the world so much. Summer camp seemed like a wondrous place to come of age, a place where you could determine your identity in a way very different than it might be at home. A powerful feeling for that time of life.

2. Nomi is someone who’s been kicked out of her band and has to return to a place from her past. How did you develop her character’s emotional arc?

Rachel Israel: Nomi was a wonderfully written character on the page, and then Jackie Tohn made her come alive in a way that was hilarious and emotionally grounded. I see Nomi as someone who makes a lot of mistakes, but she is also so principled; she messes up and is irresponsible, but she believes in the moment that she was doing the right thing. Over the course of the story, Nomi learns to compromise, and to think of others. Jackie brought that transformation to the screen beautifully.

Q. You’ve assembled a strong ensemble cast. How did you work with actors like Jackie Tohn, Aya Cash, and Seth Green to bring authenticity to the camp setting?

Rachel Israel: With such an amazing cast, I had to do very little. I spoke with actors individually about their characters and major story points, but we didn’t rehearse anything in advance. So every shooting day had this great feeling of excitement, like we were all playing together. It was just so fun to see what the actors would bring to a scene.

Q. The film focuses on “floaters,” the kids who don’t fit into typical camp groups. Why was it important to tell their story?

Rachel Israel: I love stories of misfits, perhaps because I’ve always felt like one myself. There’s tension in the story between the idea of individuality and community. Both things are so important in life – the freedom and confidence to be an individual – and the sense of belonging to community. I think the film explores how to achieve balance between these two needs.

Q. Your film is premiering at Woodstock Film Festival before heading to Newport Beach. How do you think different audiences on each coast might connect with this summer camp story?

Rachel Israel: Woodstock Film Festival is our East Coast premiere, and it’s super exciting to bring the film back to the area where we shot it. I’m also excited to see how it plays in Newport Beach, and all around. My hope is that the film connects with all sorts of people, wherever they’re from and whether they’re Jewish or not. I always find I get the most involved in films that show me a new world.

Q. As you prepare for the Newport Beach Film Festival screening after New York, what are you most excited for audiences to discover about “The Floaters”?

Rachel Israel: I hope that audiences get some joy, laugh and feel hopeful. Those qualities of youth are so powerful right now.

Q. What do you hope viewers take away from Nomi’s journey and the stories of these misfit campers?

Rachel Israel: THE FLOATERS is a story of misfits who don’t like each other at all at first – but who ultimately are able to make something beautiful together. I hope audiences feel that – and that they get a kick out of our wildly talented cast.

(R to L) Shai Korman (Producer), Lily Korman (Producer), Becky Korman (Producer), Andra Gordon (Producer, Writer), Rachel Israel (Director), Amelia Brain (Writer) – credit: K180 Studios.

Israel’s film taps into something familiar for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong. The bicoastal premieres offer audiences from New York to Southern California a chance to revisit the awkwardness, humor, and unexpected connections that summer camp can bring. Through Nomi’s reluctant return and the kids she’s tasked with leading, “The Floaters” becomes a story about accepting where you come from while creating space for who you want to become. The journey from Woodstock to Newport Beach marks the start of what promises to be a resonant run for this character-driven comedy.