Alex Alexander: A Long Story Short

So what makes a guy born and bred in the inner city hustle uproot his family of five from uber urban Surry Hills to the laid-back Central Coast enclave of Pearl Beach?

‘Well it was a no-brainer really,’ says film producer and on-screen storyteller, Alex Alexander. ‘Let me start with a little story first ...’

That doesn’t surprise me, after all you’re a storyteller!

‘When our first child Kat was born I was 28 and like most 20 somethings I was self-obsessed, thought I knew it all and was adamant that having a child would not change the status quo, compromise our lifestyle, or change my love for the energy and electricity a big city has to offer. I had a very serious conversation with my wife, Joanna, that our child would simply have to fit into our lives.’

Ha! Well the old adage: life is what happens when you are busy making other plans, could not be more true. A few things happened when she was born:

One: Absolutely everything changed. Two: I, in fact, knew absolutely nothing. And three: It turns out babies have a mind of their own and would not willingly and peacefully come to cafés and restaurants when we felt like it. And all that was ok because I had never experienced a love quite like the one I felt for my daughter. It was absolutely unconditional. So much so, that I never thought I could possibly love another child as much as her, I was done ... thank you.

So … long story short?

‘Hey, that’s my line … but more of that in due course.

‘We loved living in the inner city but found ourselves immersed in a bit of an urban bubble both living and working in Surry Hills. As our family grew — the need to burst that bubble a few times a year was ever-present and we found ourselves holidaying in the Central Coast to escape the city grind.’

And that's when you discovered Pearl Beach?

Jo and I felt it was a little piece of paradise there, the kids loved the beach, nature and above all the space. When the opportunity came up we bought a small holiday home at Pearl with the intention of setting up an Airbnb, and slipping in and out between short-term renters and maybe retiring here.

You look far too young for that.

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salmonandco.com 0400 489 955 ‘As we were renovating and updating our little seaside shack we had somewhat of an epiphany and instead of waiting 25 years until retirement, we completely shifted our core values and made the choice to try and live up here now.

‘I have to say, it's the best decision we’ve made on all fronts ... just like our decision to have more kids, we realised we had the capacity to love more than one place.

What differences in living and working have you experienced since your move?

‘The plan originally was to commute between the Central Coast and Surry Hills. And, for a while, that’s how it went down. I used my time on the train to read scripts for work, listen to podcasts and catch up on emails.

The Central Coast, like the siren that she is, kept luring me back. So my five working days in Sydney turned to four, and four to three. By the time this article is published the commute will probably be whittled down to two out of five days.

It's amazing what you can do with a mobile phone, laptop and wifi.

‘A shout out to Pearl Beach Café and Lords of Pour in Ettalong Beach for the generous use of your tables and free wi-fi (for the mere cost of a double espresso or two). And maintaining a professional demeanour over the phone while in board shorts and a tank top at the beach is surprisingly easier than it sounds.

Tell me about your creative background and what you do

‘I run my own production company: 412 Entertainment — founder and producer since 2013. Film festivals had been my training ground and motivated and inspired me to tell stories — P-I (Pre-Internet). I had a long and winding career path however, during which I completed a Commerce and Law degree; became a multi-platform specialist via numerous marketing director positions for media and entertainment companies, and then a couple of post graduate degrees before coming back to my love of story-telling for the screen.

A lot of people aren't quite sure what a producer really does.

‘Yes, my parents included. In short, we develop a TV or film story idea, champion that story, collaborate with teams to bring it to fruition, and maximise the exposure of that content through negotiating national and international distribution deals.

In other words, pretty much everything you don't see when you're watching your favourite TV show.

‘It’s allowed me the flexibility to work remotely when I can, and elect the days I go into the office. Things have never been busier, but the beauty is I can take calls with my team and stakeholders from basically anywhere.

But the long and the short of it is, that you have even bigger plans galloping over the horizon towards the Coast.

‘You’re stealing my lines again. The Central Coast, as I've discovered, has a real creative hub at its heart, and has the makings of the perfect creative space, drawing inspiration from the ocean and the natural beauty of the landscape. It's no wonder creatives from all over are relocating here.

‘Marie Patane and I came up with the idea while having coffee at Ettalong Beach — she's also a Central Coast local and my co-producer and creator of our upcoming TV show, Alantown, starring Guy Pearce.

That was a shameless plug.

‘… #sorrynotsorry. We wanted to CREATE (there's that word again) a physical hub for filmmakers, content creators and storytellers — locally. More than that, we wanted an event that would showcase the Central Coast to the world on scale, and an event that ultimately brought the world to our little hidden gem. There is a lot of potential here to create a destination event that celebrates the art of short form storytelling. And so was born: Long Story Shorts.

That took you a long time to make that long story short. A film festival: how does it differ from just screening themed films in one of the Central Coast cinemas?

‘Oops, spoiler alert, I’m announcing the name for the first time. So, the vision for the International Film Festival Long Story Shorts, to be held in the first half of 2021, is that it becomes to Central Coast what Sundance Film Festival has become to Utah, and the Tribeca Film Festival to New York.

‘You can tell big stories in little films, whether it’s a comedy, drama or doco. You can make a huge impact with short-form movie making. And making one isn’t just a stepping stone to making features, it’s an art form in itself. CREATIVES OF THE COAST • Alex Alexander

We will draw films from filmmakers all over the world as well as local talent.

We will represent an opportunity for local youth voices to be heard with a dedicated category for local filmmakers under 18, as well as a Local Film category opened to creatives at large. We’ll run this alongside our international short film categories and TV-pilot categories so the scope and quality of films will be diverse, local, global and 'glocal'.

It’s a three-day event culminating in a beachside open-air cinematic experience featuring new and established talent, heralded by a panel of celebrity judges of actors and awardwinning filmmakers. We think each of our jury members will be, or will inevitably become, advocates of the Central Coast.

What sort of reception have you had so far to the concept?

Both Marie and I have been working busily behind the scenes and talking to local businesses and influencers to get them involved as collaborators, sponsors and supporters of the event. We’ve had tremendous encouragement from the Central Coast Council, and generally it's been received with open arms with local businesses excited to be involved in a creative destination-based event that will showcase the Central Coast and impact tourism. If you are reading this and you haven't heard from either Marie or me yet, and would like to be involved, we can't wait to talk to you. You can email us at info@longstoryshorts.com.au

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