Morgan Sliff is a writer, surfer, and the producer of the short film "To Be Frank".
Community takes shape in everything we do and everywhere we gather, from our local coffee shops to beaches to volleyball courts to barns to schools to yoga studios. It binds us to callings, gives us purpose, and fulfills our genetic longing to be around each other. And some pods or places have a person that seems to exist as living plaster—it’s hard to leave them, and you feel good around them. Combine a sticky person with a gathering place, a mission, or a sport, and you start to get little communities growing like bamboo.
That's the type of person at the center of "To Be Frank," a new short film that explores a community of ocean dwellers via the burly voice of Frank Paine, a 73-year-old spirit-raiser whose life orbits around a two-block stretch of beach. Surfing and the ocean happen to be the gathering place; Paine is the plaster. His unforgettable mustache and green VW bus are what passersby get with a first glance. A level deeper lie Frank’s ability to locate and build upon the good in a stranger, whether they be a CEO, a janitor, or a seagull, and a willingness to help a lonely new surfer and then invite them to dinner. His actions and energy make us all fence our lineups a little less and see more clearly the power in fellowship.
