‘The Wedge’ and stories of the local boarding community roars onto screen, debuts at Newport Beach Film Festival
A powerful wave knocked the underwater housing of videographer and surfer Mike Harris’s camera into his face as he was filming at the iconic surfing spot known as the Wedge. He passed out and got slammed into the rocks of Newport Harbor jetty, colleague Brent Weldon said.
“You know it happens,” Weldon said. “You hear about it all the time. But to see it that bad, I’d never seen it that bad before.”
Friends pulled Harris out of the water and waited in anxious horror as he floated in and out of consciousness. He was unable to coherently respond to the people trying to help him, yet somehow maintained a vice-like grip on his camera until he was able to recognize Weldon among the faces around him.
“He basically doesn’t know what’s going on, been knocked out twice in the water, being pulled in, and his only thing is: ‘Give it to Brent!’” Weldon told the Daily Pilot during an interview at the Wedge while gentler waves rolled in Thursday morning.
Memories of that day and stories of other friends seriously hurt there despite being experienced swimmers, body boarders or surfers lingered with Weldon, imparting a deep sense of awe and reverence. That inspired him to chronicle their stories and pair them with footage spanning over seven years of monster swells.
“The Wedge” debuts at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Friday, Oct. 18. It’s Weldon’s first attempt at making a feature film after years of producing videos published to Youtube.
“It definitely turned into something that I was not expecting,” Weldon said. “It’s way bigger, way longer than what I was thinking it would be. But I’m stoked with how it came out. I learned so much.”
The project that eventually became “The Wedge” began four years ago, shortly after Harris got hurt. Weldon put it together mostly on his own while maintaining a day job as a sales rep for underwater housing manufacturer Aquatech. The self-taught filmmaker refined his skills as an editor and interviewer over the course of production, and shot a majority of the footage himself.
Weldon said one of the hardest parts about making the film was maintaining enough motivation to complete it. Words of enthusiasm from practically everyone he shared his progress with was key in keeping him committed to his passion project.
Even so, he wasn’t sure if “The Wedge” would make the cut for the Newport Beach Film Festival. He said he was about 90% done with it when he submitted his reel for consideration.
“They called me a week later and said, ‘You’re in,’” Weldon said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, crap, I better upgrade this to make it better!’”
Weldon said he was honored the boarding community surrounding the Wedge trusted him to share their stories and is excited to shed a light on them. He also hopes those who see the film come home with a deeper appreciation of the ocean’s power.
“People are just not knowing what they’re doing thinking they can surf this place,” Weldon said. “The risks are out here. Parents are coming in and dropping off six kids [from their] car and saying, ‘Go hang out for the day,’ and leaving them here on an 8-foot [swells] day.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
