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The Wreck Beach Festival Review (2005)
The story of love, domes, and independent films.

Weblink: Wreck Beach Website

See the 30min Short Documentary on the 2005 Wreck Beach Film Festival

Review by Denis Logan

Denis with a hat. Oh my. When I first heard about the Wreck-Beach Film Festival, I imagined a beautiful lake-side vista covered in throngs of people out to enjoy the films and the summer. A place where one could innocuously sip at one's fruit-flavored beverage as one watched the sun set in lieu of a selection of artistic independent films.

Thank God I was wrong.

From the moment I took one cautious step out onto the sand to the moment I left, the Wreck-Beach film festival was a roller-coaster ride of a weekend. Easily the best ever. (read on)

Driving while sleeping is kind of bad. On this particular journey we begin with 5 people. Kirill (of Scope Films fame), Amanda (my girlfriend), two of Kirill's friends and myself.
We arrived around sunset, greeted by The Captain himself. No amount of words can describe The Captain; he is mysterious and yet transparently truthful. From the moment you step onto his property you are his guest, and he is the master of his domain; and a better host there is not.

The first thing one might notice when pulling into Wreck-beach, is the rather unusual scenery. The Captain himself lives in a large self-constructed dome, and there are several smaller "guest-domes" around the lot.

Straight out of Mario Twins... Don't mess with the Captain... The "mushroom dome" is not only a guest house, but an observation lounge and a fully functional washroom!
When asked about the particular shape of the buildings, the Captain explained that the design was to be circular because it reflected nature's hemisphere. The natural curviness on the interior of the dome is easier for the mind to process, and hence, more relaxing.

In the main dome, where the Captain lives, he can project movies onto the roof when it rains, but that's certainly not the main attraction. A 40-foot high screen looms over the "beach" The beach itself is imported sand from the shores of Lake Simcoe, which the Captain ordered 4 dump-trucks worth.

Amanda in front of the pool! In the middle of the sand a large above-ground pool offers filmmakers a chance to cool down in the hot sun, or take a midnight dip.

But domes and pseudo-beach aside, in the center of it all sits a rather unusual projector stand. The "Rocket-tron" was built by the captain as a casing to house the large projector. The nose cone is removable and the projector sits inside the hollow steel rocket body. Wires come out of the side and plug into a shelf-mounted DVD player for crystal-clear images at night. Captain often remarks, "I always wanted a rocket, so I built one!"

ROCKET-TRON (TM) The big outdoor screen...

People begin pouring in as the sun goes down. Music plays over the speakers as the drinks go around. By the time the sun goes down there's a crowd of around 30 people gathering in the beach area.
The BBQ is fired up and the burgers begin cooking. The BBQ is located at the edge of the beach inside a colorful Tiki-Bar. On the board above the bar area is a post-board with advertisements for independent films.

Red lights add that special glow as the burgers roast on the grill. Spirits are high, people are laughing and there is a growing anticipation of the films.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Here, the burgers go their merry way towards my belly. So long burgers, so long.

Tiki bar!!! The Tiki Bar glows at night, a beacon of hope and drunkenness.

There's a problem.

The projector is broken. The Captain rushes inside with two friends and filmmakers and they begin analyzing the projector. In the meantime, the first few short films are shown on a small TV set up under the stage. The Captain paces frantically as a friend of his is called in.

The audience comes in closer and watches the first two films with a sense of dread. Will the whole night be like this?

Somebody broke the projector! No rocket-tron! The Rocket-tron stands silent. The audience grows disjointed. In another part of the dome, Kirill is still burning his modified DVD for the festival, silently praying that the projector will be fixed.

While testing the projector a cloud of smoke rises from the circuit board. All seems lost.
Fast forward: 10 minutes later. What a crowd!

Magnus Opus, the first feature film of the night has already begun, but some men run screaming from the main dome.

"The projector is fixed!" someone yells...
The Captain makes his way out of the darkness carefully, clutching a working projector between his arms. Immediately the screen comes to life with the rekindled Magnus Opus. There is much applause and relief. The rest of the films go without a hitch. (Note: Magnus Opus was AMAZING)

The last feature of the night is Elise, from director Kirill Kripak. It is the world premiere of the film and many of the cast are in attendance. A drunk crowd cheers and applauds as the screen goes black after the opening credits. Mr. Kripak is pleased that he (just barely) made his deadline and shown his film for the first time to a public audience.
Then, as is the usual for filmmakers after the screenings of their movies, everybody started drinking. That's either a halo or a hand grenade...

Fire Burns. A bon fire is built, casting 30-foot flames into the night sky. As the heat warms a cold crowd, girls begin getting into bikinis and jumping in the pool with some of the filmmakers.
Soon the music returns and a full-fledged party ensues.
A 3x3 roars into the party, circling the beach on a track and attracts attention. Kirill himself mounts and performs a "wheelie".

The party rages into the early morning, when tired filmmakers and friends pass out.
The first night of films has been a success. Though both the Captain and Kirill faced their problems, everybody was able to overcome.

Golf cart chases are FUN! Intellectual breakfast conversation.... With severe hangovers, we wake up in the morning to find the Captain has a special surprise for the visiting filmmakers. The neighboring golf course (Innisbrook) has sent us a battalion of golf carts to access their golf club restaurant.

The Captain directs us to the small restaurant where we are treated kindly by the staff and have an engaging breakfast conversation. The food is good, the company is great and the golf course is beautiful. What more could one want in a weekend? How about a group photo...

Everybody dance now!

Upon our return to Wreck-beach the ladies tan with the captain as the boys engage in trying to hurt themselves.

"The Bomb"

Unsuspecting terror befalls the unwary Kirill.

"Playboys"

While the Captain shares his love with the ladies, a man shares his love with a Frisbee.

"The Dish"

As with all weekend getaways, at least 2 hours must be dedicated to the many uses of Frisbees.

AMAZING CAR!

As the day waned, we were introduced to another of the Captain's friends, who arrived in style. The hot rod performed for the camera and afterwards, drinks were served. It wasn't long until the sun set once again and more filmmakers streamed onto the beach.

Before the films started on the second night, two bands took the stages. Ronely Teper began in the afternoon with two amazing sets in the shade behind the sand; an intimate performance like no other. Amazing guitar work and a melodious and original singer. Expect these girls to go places!

After the sun began to go down the next band, Cheaper Than Therapy, performed from the area in front of the screen on the beach. Their hard rock riffs lit up the crowd in preparation of the first feature of the night- Purple Glow. It just so happens the band has a "cameo" in the movie as well. Talk about one hell of a segue!

Playing the second night were a few famed films, including "A Joker's Card" from Johnny Wu, "Purple Glow" from SvBell, "Skippy" and "The Patient of Miss Rice" from Perry Blackshear, "Dentist" a twisted hilarious animation from Signe Baumane, "Snitch" from Kirill Kripak and my own "The Perfect Sandwich".

As a special treat, the Captain also showed us a behind the scenes documentary of a film called "Terrarium". The second night was much more relaxed, everyone sitting comfortably around a smaller fire and enjoying the films.

There was breakfast at the golf club in the morning again, and a slew of fare-wells.

The Wreck-Beach International Film Festival of 2005 was over; a huge success.

How do you get the damn apature settings on this damn camera... The films were excellent all around, the hospitality was incredible, and the weather was breathtaking. Look forward in the next few weeks for video clips. Based on the footage, I'll be making a documentary on the Elise World Premiere and Wreck-Beach festival. We'll see when it's done.

Back to city life, and already I miss the beach. As far as festivals go, there is nothing like Wreck-beach. It stands alone as the only film festival where fun is the focus. I highly recommend submitting your film and coming up to the Barrie area for the next year. The Captain is working on a smoke machine for the back end of the Rocket-tron, as well as increasing publicity for the festival.

In short: great fun + good films = Wreck-Beach Stay Tuned for information on the video documentary! Happy Sailing!

I love this kind of stuff.