The Real McCoy

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Jack McCoy hasn't been in South Africa since the mid 1990s, and this was his first visit to Durban to bring his new film for a special African premiere. By Jack McCoy.

I can’t say how fortunate I am to have been invited to show the 3rd international screening of A Deeper Shade of Blue at the Wavescape Surf Film festival in conjunction with the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).

It was sheer luck that I got an email reminder that I’d been invited back in February. But with all that’s going on in my life, I some how thought the invite was for September.

You can imagine my surprise when writing to Steve “Spike” Pike from Wavescape that the festival was starting in a week! I said that I could blank out my schedule and would be able to come with the film. The next day, Steve confirmed that he’d move hell and high water to make it happen. And happen it did.

More than 2,000 people attended the African premiere of my film. It was a night to remember.

On Sunday night, July 24, at the Bay of Plenty Lawns, a man-made ampitheatre on the beach in Durban, more than 2,000 people attended the African premiere of my film. It was a night to remember.

Having shown the film at the Santa Barbara Inter Film Festival and the Maui Film Festival with such an overwhelming response, I have to admit I was a bit nervous about the screening here on the other side of the world.

I’d spent the day before giving out handbills to the surfers along the boardwalk just off the pier where the famous Gunston 500 contest was held back in the day. I met a few of the good old boys who were fans of my films, so I knew I’d have a few people in attendance. We’d also been getting weather reports that the weather was going to turn sour about show time. Ahhh, the outdoor screening promoter's worst nightmare. I had a restless night's sleep thinking about rain and wind blowing us off the beach after I had come all that way.

I was so psyched to screen the film here. A wash out would also bum out some of the other filmmakers at the DIFF who were looking forward to seeing the film too.

On Sunday morning, I awoke to cloudy skies, which was not too encouraging. I did my best to keep myself busy, attending a workshop with Leonard Retel-Helmrich, who’s one of the most unique cameraman men I’ve ever met. His film “Position Among the Stars” blew me out with his camera work and I really enjoyed watching him reveal some of his tricks during his workshop.

Spike and I went down to the beach about four and it appeared that the predicted buster was going to be late and we’d have a light breeze with no rain ... HUGE sigh of relief.

Spike and I went down to the beach about four and it appeared that the predicted buster was going to be late and we’d have a light breeze with no rain ... HUGE sigh of relief.

As darkness fell the crowd gathered and the show began. Someone gave me a director’s chair, and I sat up front to the side of the screen taking in all of the ooooh’s and aaaaah’s and a few whistles and screams during the Shipsterns sequence.

A huge applause erupted at the end of the film and a big smile came across my face. Totally stoked and thrilled at the reaction. I spoke to many who said they “loved it” which is about a good as it gets for a filmmaker.

Thank you all who came to see the film. You are some of the few who have seen ADSOB on the big screen. And a very special thanks to Spike, Chris and Steve, and a huge thanks to Peter and Monica Rorvik and all of their wonderful staff and volunteers who put together one of the most exciting cutting edge film festivals anywhere in the world.

ALOHA ALWAYS

Jack

PS Please tell your friends about it and spread the stoke on our A Deeper Shade of Blue facebook page and check out our website adeepershadeofblue.com