A diverse group of around 30 people gathered at the corner of F and 20th St. on Aug. 27 for a showing of the original “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The grassy seating area in the front of the local coffee shop and sponsor, Caffeine Supreme, complemented open skies and nearly distant buzzing of downtown on the cool Friday night.
Independent filmmaker and founder of Hectic Films, Ricky Bird, ran the fourth weekly The Grip: Indy Films Under the Stars, which features independent films and B movies every Friday night from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Although Bird has a hand in practically every aspect of the productions, from acting and directing to writing the scripts and building the stage, getting the community involved in their passions is what inspired him to create The Grip.
“I want to help build everyone in what they want to do. Everyone has a passion, whether it’s the people making the food or acting or doing the music or editing. There’s a lot that goes into it,” Bird said.
For many local aspiring filmmakers, this could be the opportunity they have been searching for.
“It’s starting to motivate other filmmakers. They know they have a place to show their movies locally so many of them are finishing scripts and filming,” said Bird.
“The power is in getting people involved and seeing your movies. There’s lots of outlets for music and bands locally, but none for films.”
Bird’s efforts of providing artistic outlets have already benefitted local filmmaker, Matt Kieley. His movie, “Carte Blanche,” was shown the first night of The Grip, but he returns for the great atmosphere.
“There’s nothing really like this here. It’s kind of like a drive-in, without the cars,” Kieley said.
Chris DeBondt, who played a role in Kieley’s movie, agreed that the atmosphere is incomparable to anything in Bakersfield.
He said, “It’s a nice grass area. It’s downtown but it’s still far enough away, it’s nice.”
Though DeBondt enjoyed the environment, he said his favorite part is that it supports not only film, but music, media and art as well.
Kent Dow knew of Hectic Films and came across the event on their website.
“It’s local and independent and it’s done fairly low budget but it’s really good work, good quality,” said Dow.
Regardless of being a previous fan or merely stumbling upon the event, like Bakersfield College students, Alix Lamb and Stephanie Plake, who stopped by half-way through the film and stayed until the end. Plake said she stayed around until the end of the film because “It was so good, the experience is unlike any other in town.”
The next showing is of “Night of the Living Dead” Sept. 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“We expect to have a big turn-out and hopefully we can get people to show up dressed like zombies, Bird said with a smile,” Bird said with a smile.
For more information on how to get involved and other showings, you can visit www.HecticFilms.com or find them on Facebook where there are postings of Hectic events.