A former San Luis Obispo resident is screening his award-winning documentary short film, Fresh to Frightening, during the 2023 SLO International Film Festival’s Central Coast Showcase.
Writer and director Gareth Kelly moved to Santa Barbara to pursue filmmaking after living in San Luis Obispo for 12 years. He says the festival played a significant role in his transition from the construction industry to filmmaker, having first attended the festival in 2013.
Fresh to Frightening was filmed on the Central Coast and is Kelly’s first film as writer/director. The 19-minute short tells the story of Canadian Sharon Green, who establishing herself as one of the finest yacht racing photographers of her generation, perfecting helicopter photography and capturing images of racing yachts in her favorite condition, “fresh to frightening.”
Kelly met Green at a local yacht club. “As a lifelong sailor myself, I realized I had been looking at her amazing images in magazines for years,” Kelly says. “Her ability to capture the power and beauty of sailboats while also fighting her way to the top of such a male-dominated industry is no doubt one of the reasons she’s considered one of the greatest competitive yacht racing photographers in the world today . . . I’m excited to share the film with the amazing SLO community I still hold near and dear.”
Fresh to Frightening screens at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26 at the Downtown Center Cinemas.