Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Long Beach Arts Council held a special event on Oct. 24 at the Long Beach Public Library to observe the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, which gave local artists and storm victims an opportunity to share their work — including the premiere of a documentary by a local filmmaker about the impact Sandy had on the community.
Nearly 100 people packed the library’s auditorium to watch Long Beach resident Kyle Richard McCarthy’s short film “We Like it Here,” a documentary that illustrates the struggle that McCarthy and the community went through after Sandy destroyed large parts of the community. McCarthy said that the idea for the film began just a month before Tropical Storm Irene hit in 2011 and posed the question, “If Long Beach was swept away by a hurricane, what would you want to be remembered about it?”
That question would catapult McCarthy on an eight-year journey to finish the documentary while recovering from Sandy and raising a family.
Mccarthy said it took him years to complete the film because he felt he wasn’t ready as a filmmaker to tell such an important story. McCarthy would go on to create several acclaimed and award-winning short films, including, “The Love,” which won the Best Short Comedy at the Long Beach International Film Festival.
He added that when he was ready to finish his latest documentary about Sandy, he knew he wanted to make it as relatable as possible for the audience.
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