It was the summer the gas stations closed. The summer they played music in the old mill. The summer they built a boat. The summer they left.

Flood Tide is a road movie on a river. It tells the story of four musicians who create extraordinary boats out of ordinary junk and set out for open water, fueled by dreams, desperation and a sense of adventure.

The tale of these unlikely rafts and their crews is told by one friend who remains at home. One day a package for him arrives containing artifacts from the boats: a glass bottle, a piece of lace, a diary, an envelope of snapshots. Each object reveals the destinies of two divergent but inextricably linked journeys.

The film's quiet narrative unfolds through fragments of memories, songs, letters and diary entries. Characters played by non-actors from the bands Dark Dark Dark and Fall Harbor chase jobs, dig through the past, and eventually, float out of town in an attempt to escape a life that doesn't make sense. They drift past empty new condo developments, anchor to explore crumbling castles and swim in iridescent green quarries. They get stopped by torrents of rain and groaning, broken down motors.

Flood Tide follows an unpredictable voyage down a strange and meandering river, a search for a new life along a polluted estuary that flows both ways.

Flood Tide is a collaboration with the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea, a project started by the artist Swoon and built by an eclectic group of artists and performers. In the summer of 2008, the crew built and floated seven large, boat-sculptures down the Hudson River, putting on performances in towns along the way. While documenting the real life journey, Flood Tide is a work of fiction that uses the voyage as its centerpiece. A small crew shot verite footage of the boats underway and created fictional scenes as well.

Music is an integral part of Flood Tide, both onscreen and off. In addition to original songs by Dark Dark Dark and Fall Harbor, the film includes music by Jolie Holland and Nathan Salsburg, and an onscreen performance by sound artist Pauline Oliveros. Along with more conventional screenings, a version of Flood Tide will tour museums, theaters, galleries, performance spaces and community centers in the United States and Europe with a live musical score performed by Dark Dark Dark.