Right Near the Beach

The debut feature from Gibrey Allen, Right Near the Beach, was one of our favorite films at the Pan African Film Festival 2020 in Los Angeles. It builds on the themes of grief and homophobia in Allen’s 2011 short film Excuses for Jeff with a unique visual style and soundscape which makes you feel like you’re in the film, right next to the characters.

So we’re excited to present a brief interview with Gibrey Allen himself. Scroll down for the interview, and be sure to follow Gibrey Allen on Instagram (@DearMayFilms) for updates on Right Near the Beach‘s release. You can read our review of Gibrey’s debut feature here.

First of all, what inspired you to become a filmmaker?

Before I started making films I was acting. I was always interested in film-making but the drive to create better roles than what I was been offered was the impetus.

I found that in my first project Excuses for Jeff. The end to end creative process was a both a great challenge and joy. Living every aspect of the film-making process gave me a greater purpose than playing a character. Creating and having control of how story is told, particularly stories about the black experience, is important. Stories that celebrate or show true conflict, or stories that aren’t trivial, are important to me. That is my film-making mission.

What drew you to the story of Jeff and homophobia in Jamaica?

Homophobia in Jamaica unfortunately is a very real and prominent thing. The music can sometimes inform this, as well as religion, laws and politics which in turn normalizes homophobic thinking. It makes you forget what every human being wants; love and acceptance. Migrating from Jamaica to New York, where sexuality is varied and open, made me see the LGBTQ community not for their sexual interactions but for the people they are. With the story of Jeff I wanted to tell a very human story, not the usual approach I have seen in films and documentaries. To tell and move a story with cinema; the music, the sound, and visuals is what I love about film-making. I didn’t want to lecture with this film, I wanted to appeal to the heart.

How was filming in Jamaica?

Filming overall was a good experience. Most of the issues stemmed from a budgetary stand point; a smaller crew and not being able to get all the locations we’d hope for. Early on we figured we’d embrace these things, looking at what we did have and use that to make an even more intimate story.

Did having Excuses for Jeff help in the production of Right Near the Beach?

Yes. Knowing the area and landscape helped. Forehand knowledge of some of the challenges and logistics, such transportation and accommodations. It also helped with the writing process because I knew which characters to tell the story best through.

How did you develop your process for your first feature film versus making you short films?

The feature was the same approach as the shorts. Not necessarily by design but because the feature was shot in three different trips over a year and a half. The scope of things didn’t become so grandiose and production didn’t become a huge moving thing.

What informed your visual style and soundscape for Right Near the Beach?

I want a voyeuristic view into the life of Mr. Jacob, the father. Almost like you’re eavesdropping on something you’re not supposed to see, someone in deep pain and mourning. The movement of the camera to react violently when he’s angry, the movement slowing down in the quiet and pensive moments. Terrence Malick’s visual language was a great reference and also Lance Hammer’s Ballast.

We embraced the nature sounds; the flora and fauna that are natural to the farm and rural setting. Quiet moments were also very important so you had time to feel and get pulled into the journey. For the Mike character we used more post-production sounds, sounds that call back to his past and childhood. More mechanical sounds which underscore the demons he’s living with.

What challenges did you face in building the style into the film?

The main challenge that we found was that we didn’t have lots of coverage on shots. With the one-take approach that we primarily used we had to shoot until we got the take that worked. This was also magnified because the cast were all local players. There’s a bit of safety in having full coverage, you can cut away to another angle or to other subjects if something doesn’t work with a particular take.

Do you feel like you made the film you set out to make, or did your vision for the film change in the film-making process?

Yes, the overall idea and feel of the story came through. However, the film process was very fluid and organic. We had to embrace everything that came along. Weather for example was a big one. It’s a tropical climate so it would rain or get overcast. Rather than waiting for these things to pass we used them to heighten moments in the film.

How is your release going so far?

No release yet as the hope is to build an audience and buzz through festivals before we take that step.

Where can readers catch the film next?

Not sure yet as COVID-19 has affected the festival run. Follow @DearMayFilms on Instagram for updates.

Do you have any projects in the works?

Yes, currently in pre-production on the next feature, also set in Jamaica. Can’t give much details yet but I can say it’s going be in the western style.

What films, books, music, art can we look up to get to know you better?

Films: The cinematic language I like are that of Terence Malick, Lars Von Trier, Steven McQueen (Please watch Hunger), Thomas Vinterberg. Pretty much anything that Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki photographs.

Music: Tons of Reggae; Beres Hammond, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Ken Booth, Toots and the Maytals. Blues, Folk music and anything that promotes me keeping my beard.

Follow Gibrey Allen @DearMayFilms on Instagram for updates on where to watch Right Near the Beach. You can read our full review of Right Near the Beach here.

Sea and Jungle FILM DIFFICULTY RANKING: 2

Angolares are the oldest inhabitants of the island of São Tomé. Control of the island was wrested from them in the late 19th century, and their descendants have been reduced to a small fishing community sitting on the border of the sea and jungle. Sea and Jungle explores the tangled history of the Angolares and the island of São Tomé.

From: São Tomé & Principe, Africa
Watch: YouTube, IMDb
Next: Golden Fish, African Fish, Batuque, Inland Sea

Sea and Jungle – The Breakdown

Sea and Jungle starts as a narrated documentary. The filmmaker, Ângelo Torres, talks through an introduction to the remote fishing village of Sao Joao dos Angolares in the southern part of São Tomé (the main island of São Tomé and Principe) alongside shots of village life. There’s only 2,500 people living here on this strip of land bordering the Sea and Jungle (Mionga Ki Ôbo). The narrated documentary start gives the viewer a foundational understanding of the place and heritage (these people are the oldest inhabitants of the island following their escape from slavery) before the filmmaker grounds us in some local interviews.

The majority of the interview subjects are part of the fishing community of the village. They tell stories of the sea to give us a living perspective of the island to add to the director’s introduction. Some are functional, like the fish saleswoman that details how she funds her entrepreneurial job, whilst some are more emotional, like the traumatic story from a fisherman that hasn’t gone out to sea for four years after a near death experience. There’s also an interview with the island’s godfather type – a white man who’s the go-to money lender for the island and literal godfather to 117 local children. His white skin is a sign that the Portuguese colonial legacy on the island perhaps hasn’t fully passed. Whilst the sequence of interviews doesn’t develop a story or any themes, the interviews with the locals give a more vivid depiction of life in Sao Joao dos Angolares.

Some of the interviews are broken up by improvisational dance and dramatic reenactments of some of the stories. These interludes add a dreaminess to the documentary that runs with the narrator’s musings and mystical interview questions. The dreamy, mystical tone makes the interviewee’s references to superstitions seem more normal. There’s the man who doesn’t each shark because it might be the shark that ate his father, the boat makers that cut the trees for the canoes on specific moon-lit nights, and the doctors that summon spirits to help them cure their neighbors. However, the creative dreaminess is not fully embraced – the film doesn’t go full Fausto in it’s originality. It also doesn’t focus one theme; jumping between local fishing stories, superstitions, historical narrative, and improvisational scenes which dilute the film’s focus. But if you’re looking for an interesting documentary capturing life from a small town on a small African island country, Sea and Jungle does it’s job.

What to Watch Next

There’s a few more interesting African documentaries that center on life by the sea. Golden Fish, African Fish opens a window on Senegal’s many fisherman whilst Batuque will let you listen to Cape Verde’s national music. Or for a dreamy docudrama from another island nation, check out Mauritius’ The Cathedral. In Search of Voodoo also does a similar job of capturing one aspect of a country’s culture.

You could also check out Inland Sea from Japan if you’re looking for more fishing related documentaries from around the world.