‘Sea Salt Wind’ makes world premiere at Marketplace Cinemas

Zack Fox, who has distinguished himself as the cinematographer of such locally produced shorts as Ghosts of the Carolina and Trouble Will Cause, has completed his first film short as writer/producer/director. It’s an intimate drama called Sea Salt Wind, and it will be screened Sunday, Dec. 8, at Marketplace Cinemas in Winston-Salem.

Much of the cast and crew will be in attendance, and this event is free and open to the public. As a bonus, Uncle Otto’s Truck, the short based on Stephen King’s short story (which appeared in his 1985 anthology “Different Seasons”), for which Fox served as cinematographer, will also be screened.

“The film is about mistakes, love, flawed people, and self-penance,” Fox said. “Sea Salt Wind tells the story of a mysterious young lady riding around a land-locked city on a bike with a surfboard. She is serving a self-made penance while working in a food truck with a father figure after her passionate romance went wrong.”

“The inspiration for the film (occurred) four years ago when I was in Honolulu and saw a girl riding a bicycle with a surfboard mounted to it,” he continued. “She was riding in the middle of the city skyscrapers. It was so interesting because if you didn’t know the ocean was just on the other side of those skyscrapers, it would have been strange and intriguing, to say the least. That sparked the entire film.”

The film reunited Fox with producers Dan Sellers and Sammie Cassell at Wreak Havoc Productions, the Greensboro-based entity that made Uncle Otto’s Truck and has collaborated with Fox several times over the years.

“I’ve served as the DP (director of photography) on many projects with Wreak Havoc, and we have a great working relationship and trust,” Fox said. “I sent them the first draft hoping for help on the pre-production prep needed. This film is a drama – zero horror – so I wasn’t sure if they would be interested in coming on fully as the production team. They read the first draft and simply said, ‘We’re in.’ I’ve had their full support, and this film wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for Sammie and Dan’s producing powers.”

“I’ve known for years what a talented and skilled cinematographer he is, but now he gets to prove his ability as a writer and director, and I’m so excited for people to see what he’s come up with,” Sellers said. “With Sea Salt Wind, he’s brought more of himself and has really put his heart into his characters. This is certainly his story, and he’s telling it while wearing many hats: He’s the cinematographer, editor, writer, producer and director. My producing partner, Sammie Cassell, and I had the easiest jobs on this movie as producers, which was to believe in Zack and to work at accomplishing his vision.”

As the manager and projectionist at Marketplace Cinemas, Fox has expanded the theater to include special screenings, not just of his own work, but of Wreak Havoc’s premiere Winston-Salem screening of the true-crime documentary Trouble Will Cause in October 2018 and the world premiere of Countdown to Midnight last March, as well as the RiverRun International Film Festival’s upcoming screening of the documentary Hoops Africa on Dec. 5.

“Sea Salt Wind was always intended to be a feature film and still is,” Fox said. “I have an outline for a feature-length script, a lot of the story and background got dropped when writing the short to simplify the script. We’re planning on shopping this short film around as a trailer to help find funding for the full feature, much like Damien Chazelle did with Whiplash. We did no fundraising of any kind for this short film; the entire film was self-funded. As for the final result of the short, I’m extremely pleased with it,” Fox said. “I’m very proud of this film for my first time out as writer/director. The film takes place in Winston-Salem and Oak Island. We filmed on the beach of Oak Island. We worked with the town to secure the permits needed for filming, and they were very happy to have us there.”

“I’m thrilled for audiences to see not only the world premiere of Sea Salt Wind but also a special double screening of Uncle Otto’s Truck, for which Zack served as cinematographer,” Sellers said. “Uncle Otto won’t be available anywhere on DVD or streaming, so the only way for audiences to enjoy the film is theatrically at free screenings like this, or at a film festival. Hopefully, the two films played back to back while complement each other well, and will especially showcase the tremendous talents of Zack Fox.”

See Mark Burger’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2019, Mark Burger.

Wanna go?

The world premiere of Sea Salt Wind will take place at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at Marketplace Cinemas, 2095 Peters Creek Pkwy. in Winston-Salem. Admission is free. For more information, call (336) 725-4646 or visit the official Wreak Havoc Productions website: www.wreakhavocproductions.com/.