In which we paddle out for a conversation with Barry Hatchett
“The official title is Beach Shorts Film Fest. My name is Barry Hatchett… like Bury the Hatchet.”
I didn’t want to be the first one to bring that up.
“No, no,” Hatchett replies with a big smile. “Everyone’s always said that my whole life. It helps you remember my name. So… I like it. It’s funny.”
We’re off to a good start.
The Fifth Annual Beach Shorts Film Fest takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Hermosa Beach Community Center on Pier Avenue at Pacific Coast Highway. Hatchett himself knows the ocean well; he’s lived in El Segundo for the past 22 years.
Surf, sand, sun… and sharks
“The whole thing came about six years ago,” Hatchett says. “I thought, Well, I’ve made a short film, from a surf trip, and I enjoyed making the movie; and I enjoyed showing the movie. And I said, you know what? Other people are probably doing the same, but there’s no real venue. I mean, you could see it on YouTube, but there’s no other place to see it on the big screen and to have hundreds of your friends involved.”
That was the genesis of Hatchett’s cinematic endeavor.
“I’m like, ‘Well, let’s see if we can find some of these people who are making these movies.’ So I started handing out flyers and talking to people and e-mailing groups – and the first year we had a really great lineup.
“The show is basically a collection of amateur short surf films, or films that are beach-related, or just show the enjoyment of living at the beach. So, it could be anything: Surf, skate, hula, paddleboard…”
Or maybe sharks?
“If you enjoy sharks you can make a shark video.
“But we just do it for fun,” Hatchett continues. He points out that the evening of film has a teen audience in mind, but not exclusively so.
“This year I have a film from a 13-year-old girl, but I have had films from a 60-year-old guy down to a 12-year-old girl – and everything in between. For a lot of people it’s their first venture into filmmaking.”
Do you preview the films yourself? I’m sure there must be some that you’re hesitant to show…
“I do preview every film,” Hatchett replies. “I gear everything towards G- or PG-rated, so there’s no nudity or drug use or foul language, usually. I do that because it’s for the family and all ages should be involved.
“And everyone who sends films in,” he adds, “they’re all very good-spirited; they’re all just about the fun of making videos, the fun of surfing, of living at the beach. I have not had one I couldn’t show.”
Really?
“Yeah.”
But I would imagine that there must have been a couple that you were sort of going, Uhhh….
“No, actually. There haven’t been any that I’ve hesitated to show.” Hatchett pauses for a split second. “There was one that was little bit really, really slow. But there’s every level of filmmaking. Some of them are very professional and some of them are very amateur, and I enjoy showing both, mixing it up. I’m not judging a 50-year-old’s ability against a 15-year-old’s ability. We just put together a good show.”
How many films do you typically screen at one of your events?
“It varies,” Hatchett says. “I try to keep the show at three hours or under. Usually I get to show maybe 14 or 15 different short pieces. Some are from individuals, and every once in a while I’ll have a film from a group of people, a club or something.”
As to whether or not Hatchett screens films from previous years, ones that were highly touted, for example, the answer is that he only did this once, at the second of his film festivals.
“That’s the only year I’ve done that,” he explains, “because I usually get plenty of entries. I haven’t been able to show any of my movies, because I want to show other people’s movies. Then, like I said, we’ve got to fit into that two-, three-hour time limit.”
Learn how it’s done
Each year, Barry Hatchett says, “I arrange to have professional surf filmmakers come and show clips from their latest movies. That helps people who are interested in filmmaking to see what’s new that’s coming out, and then also the professionals get to either preview their work to a new audience or just let people know that they have a new movie out that might be available on DVD or for download. So that’s kind of a win-win situation [because, at the same time] professional filmmakers get to see what amateurs are doing, and what kids up and coming are doing.
“This year’s featured guest filmmaker is a father-daughter team, Paul and Samantha Katz, and they’ll be showing a clip from their latest work, called ‘Mind Over Malibu.’ They’ve done several other movies, which are excellent. They’re independent producers; it’s a family business for them. And that’s another thing. People can meet these filmmakers and talk to them and say, Oh, I’m interested in putting a movie together. How do I distribute that? What type of cameras do you use? It actually works into a very interesting filmmaker forum where everybody gets together.”
In previous years guests have included Sam George, the son of well-known surfer Robert August (who starred in “The Endless Summer”), Ryan Casey, and Steve Cleveland; also El Segundo filmmaker Jason Baffa as well as Chris Aguilar of Soul Surf Media.
There’s some incentive here, too, because the filmmakers are rewarded for their efforts.
“One of the best things,” Hatchett says, “is that the local surf community has been really wonderful about giving us prizes. The local surf shops [and restaurants] that have helped us out over the years, I can go back in and buy more gift cards from them. It helps them out, and it helps us out.
“It’s not a money-maker,” he quickly adds with a laugh. “It’s just for fun and everybody has a good time with it. Adam Davenport (of Davenport Surfboards) donates a longboard every year for the raffle, and I usually get a John Elway autographed football from John Elway’s Manhattan Beach Toyota, donated for the raffle.
“Surf shops give out different stuff for prizes, and in the lobby we have unique vendors who come to put their things on display. We have Joe Aaron, the Orange County Register’s 2010 longboarder of the year, and he brings a display of his surfboards and fins [from] his company, Joe Motion.”
This year Hatchett is quite pleased that local painter Ron Croci will be on hand to show his work. It’s colorful and expressive, and it immediately grabs one’s attention.
Another Hatchett job
“What else can I say about the film festival?” Hatchett says. “It’s fun, it’s a labor of love; it’s good for the surf community. We’re a little homespun: There’s usually some sort of technical problem – although last year ran very smooth. But I’ve had DVD players breakdown, I’ve had sound go out…
“It’s an easy show,” he concludes, and yet “I work about five months to get it prepared. In the last couple of weeks it’s a lot of details… But it all comes together at the last moment, a little like a high school play.”
The Fifth Annual Beach Shorts Film Fest takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Hermosa Beach Community Center, 710 Pier Ave., at Pacific Coast Hwy, in Hermosa Beach. Tickets, $10. More info at beachshortsfilmfest.com. ER
