Camera, a new movie filmed in Morro Bay, screens at The Bay Theatre on Jan. 20 

Morro Rock and the Morro Bay Harbor are given the star treatment in Camera, a new independent film partially shot in Morro Bay screening in The Bay Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 20, as a kind of thank you to Morro Bay for how welcoming it was during filming.

All the proceeds from the screening will benefit the Morro Bay High School Arts Department.

click to enlarge

• Photos Courtesy Of Jay Silverman
• GUIDING LIGHT Director Jay Silverman offers direction to Miguel Gabriel, who plays Oscar, a nonverbal 9-year-old who finds purpose through photography and the mentorship of a man who lost his son, in Camera, screening Jan. 20, in The Bay Theatre.

The event is part of the week-long Salty Cinema Series with films connected to the local community from Citizen Kane and its connection to Hearst Castle to the independent documentary Botso, about beloved music teacher and sculptor Wachtang "Botso" Korisheli.

"This cinema series was actually the result of [Morro Bay Mayor] Carla Wixom, who got in touch with me," Morro Bay Theatre's new proprietor Cameron Wilson explained. "She was really championing Camera."

The story follows 9-year-old Oscar (Miguel Gabriel), a nonverbal new kid in Jasper's Cove—the stand-in for Morro Bay—who's moved to town with his widowed mother Evelyn (Jessica Parker Kennedy). Bullied because of his inability to speak, Oscar is eventually mentored by local repairman Eric (Beau Bridges), who shows him how to use his old camera—a cherished possession that belonged to Oscar's dead father. It's a family-friendly, heartwarming story about a struggling fishing town torn apart by a rift between those who favor building a cannery and those who favor allowing developers to build condos.

"I did this movie as a labor of love," director Jay Silverman explained. "I was a photographer who went to Brooks [Institute] in Santa Barbara, so to re-create old-school photography was the bones of the operation."

The screenplay was written by Irish writer Jaime Murphy. At first, Silverman considered filming the story in Ireland, but its "micro budget" was limiting.

"I did go to Nova Scotia, and I did scout in Boston, and everywhere I went I could not find what I wanted," Silverman said.

click to enlarge

• Photos Courtesy Of Jay Silverman
• LOCAL ICON Morro Rock and the Morro Bay Harbor feature prominently in Camera, a new family film about mentorship, loss, and the healing power of creativity.

Silverman and his crew spent three days filming establishing shots in Morro Bay before moving production to Santa Clarita's Diamond V Movie Ranch, which fortunately has a mountain range almost identical to the Central Coast—but Silverman couldn't say enough about how great Morro Bay was.

"Everybody was so welcoming, so incredibly generous. Nobody's saying, 'How much? What can I get?' We needed the back of the property of Giovanni's [Fish Market and Galley] to put the camera for a shot, and the owner Giovanni [DeGarimore] said, 'Do what you need.' Anyone in Los Angeles would be doing like this," Silverman said, rubbing his fingers together to make the international symbol for "pay me." "That's so rare. I saw a lot of heart in that community, and I do believe I portrayed it in a very positive way."

Local film fans may already be familiar with Silverman's work. One of his first feature films was a favorite at the SLO International Film Festival in 2015.

"All these movies that I do are all centered on subject matter that hopefully takes an audience to a place that they didn't expect," he explained. "My first movie, which is called Girl on the Edge—it incidentally won the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival [Audience and Best Feature Awards]—was my best-reviewed movie, and at the time, my daughter was struggling with a high school rape, and the conclusion of it is that equine therapy saved her life. I said, I've got to tell this story. I had no idea what to do when my daughter was struggling with not only being bullied but using substances to avoid confronting the problem. We ended up sending her away and she got help with equine therapy."

Silverman added his personal perspectives and vision to the story with the help of co-producer and writer Joseph Gamache. Star Beau Bridges, brother of Jeff and son of Llyod Bridges, was also instrumental in shaping the story.

"Not only did Beau respond well to the script, he—no joke—literally sat down on a Zoom call with me for an hour and a half on our first meeting. His notes were profoundly helpful," Silverman said.

"Jay sent me the script," Bridges recalled. "I really liked it a lot, and he contacted me long before we started shooting, so I was able to work with him and the writer Jamie [Murphy]."

One of the story elements that appealed to Bridges was the mentorship. He names UCLA Bruins men's basketball coach John Wooden and his father, actor Lloyd, as his mentors in life.

"Being a good citizen was more important to him than being a great basketball player. To coach, success had nothing to do with winning. It had to do with finding peace of mind, which meant leaving the basketball game or whatever the task knowing that you'd done your very best, because that way you can't lose.

"The word my dad always emphasized growing up was 'respect,'" Bridges added. "First, you need to respect yourself, but then you want to respect your fellow man and woman or the people you're working with, and then you want to respect the planet. I've taken that forward with me all my life. I think Eric is trying to fill Oscar with that idea."

Bridges also sang Morro Bay's praises: "I like that part of the world. That's fantastic country. To work in Morro Bay? That was one of my favorite spots. It's such a magical place. Jay really captured it."

Now Bridges and Silverman hope Camera will capture the audience it deserves. One of the film's selling points is the amazing performance by young Gabriel, who's now 14. Silverman said he was the obvious choice.

"No. 1, he wants to be a director," Silverman noted. "No. 2, he knew the script better than the other characters, and No. 3, I'm still mesmerized when I watch my own movie and look at him in a dark room listening to Beau talk about photography and his cognizant focus and his minute moves—that kid's a natural."

"When I was little, I had speech delay, so I couldn't speak my words clearly," Gabriel explained. "I went to theater class to help that. What people noticed was that I was very expressive with my face. So yes, it was a little complicated [to play a nonverbal character], but not too complicated."

He and Bridges displayed amazing rapport, and it probably helped that Bridges—who has six grandkids—knows how to interact with children.

"We had fun, and I teased him a bit, joking that his job was easier than mine because 'you don't have any lines,'" Bridges said with a laugh.

"Oh my gosh, it was honestly fun working with him," Gabriel said. "It was an amazing experience. I was having so much fun."

And what did Gabriel like about the story?

"I thought it was deeply emotional, and I could really connect. It all felt very developed, and there was a strong, clear, cohesive arc to each character and to the story overall."

What should people expect when they see this movie?

"You're going to feel all the emotions in this movie—laugh, cry, and happiness—and it's really going to hit your heart," Gabriel concluded. "Bring a lot of tissue. You're going to need it." Δ

Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].