OCEAN CITY — The date was Aug. 22, 1933, a day that would change the history of Ocean City forever. On that date Hurricane 6 — popularly known as the Storm of 1933 — devastated the Eastern Shore, with the Atlantic Ocean engulfing businesses, homes, and entire landscapes. But the storm also had a massive economic impact, cutting a much-needed Inlet between the ocean and the back bay.
A new film, Hurricane 6, produced and directed by Fiona O’Brien of Bishopville and starring the cast of the Saltare in Elementis Dance Collective (SIEDC), unpacks the dynamic created by the Inlet through dance. The 15-minute short film premieres on Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m. at the Ocean City Center for the Arts, 502 94th St. bayside. Admission is $5 and supports the Ocean City Film Festival. The film was made possible in part by a grant from the Ocean City Film Festival with support from the Worcester County Arts Council.
Director and SIEDC co-founder O’Brien, an Ocean City native, said her inspiration for the film came from her desire to reconcile the natural beauty of the Eastern Shore with the industrious identity of Ocean City.
“Ocean City and Assateague are vastly different landscapes,” she said. “As a kid, I would go surf fishing on Assateague with my dad … As I grew older, I began working in Ocean City and got caught in the fast-paced swing of summer … When filming on Assateague for Hurricane 6, I found myself circling back to the character in the story, longing for the past and connecting with nature again.”
While the dynamic between these two lands is a key theme to O’Brien, she also wanted the film to broadly focus on the relationship between woman and nature. Hurricane 6 concentrates on women’s historic role in Ocean City’s economic boom. The main character in the film, danced by Daria Gilbert, represents both the land and the generations of working class women who helped build Ocean City.
Zoe Couloumbis, rehearsal director and co-founder of SIEDC, states that the relationship between woman, work, and water is central to the film.
“Hurricane 6’s narrative, production, and execution were all solely created, facilitated, and performed by women,” she said. “This storm both brought in and wiped out life around the Eastern Shore, and that is not mere coincidence. Hurricane 6 personifies the event, giving a tangible character to the earth’s elements. This way, as the audience, we can physically see the relationship between woman and water.”
The film’s production fostered inter-art collaboration. Will Rothermel of Ocean City, resident composer at SIEDC, worked with O’Brien to create the score which guides the film, and he looked towards the natural and social landscape for inspiration.
“Stirring Tides featured ocean waves sampled straight from Assateague,” Rothermel said. “Ocean Commotion just screams commercialism and a lighthearted attitude. I sampled a few sounds from the Town of Ocean City including the bumper car bell used at Trimper’s Rides. Taking inspiration from timeless surf rock classics, I tried to recreate that sunny, warm feeling.”
For William Strang, director of photography, who is also the creative director of the Ocean City Film Festival, Hurricane 6 is a work that protects, preserves, and promotes Ocean City’s history, identity, and artwork.
“I do consider this film to have a heavy documentary influence,” he said. “We were fortunate to use primary source material and place images of the town’s past alongside images of the town’s present. Projects like Hurricane 6 are perfect demonstrations of how easy it is to make a fairly impressive film in our town. Without the support from local businesses, the Art League of Ocean City, and our team of local talent, this film would not be possible.”