One might easily walk past the edifice at the south end of Madison without realizing that the aging brown facade is a doorway to the timeless silver screen.
The mysterious building, home to Hat Factory Studios, opens doors Aug. 7 to welcome islanders and to celebrate milestones in the growth of the three-year-old film studio.
“We are coming of age,” Hat Factory founder Garrett Bennett said. “The dream is coming to fruition, which is to have a full in-house production (studio) right here on the island.
“Movies are exciting for people and we want them to know we’re here.”
The young filmmaker discovered the nondescript structure by chance, soon after he returned home to Bainbridge from film school in Los Angeles.
“It was a dilapidated dry cleaner building,” Bennett said. “There were shirt presses and plastic covering endless racks of clothes.”
Bennett, his wife Ann Wilkinson, and many friends worked for months to transform the space, he says.
Now, three years later, the group celebrates the arrival of Hat Factory’s second feature film, “A Relative Thing,” at “picture lock” – the stage at which visual content is set.
Filmed on the island last fall, the ensemble piece has already been accepted at Ft. Lauderdale’s Florida Film Festival and the Independent Film Project in New York City. Bennett’s first feature-length film, “Farewell to Harry,” filmed here in 2000, has found a distributor in Porchlight Entertainment.
The event also marks the start of the search for actors to play in Hat Factory’s upcoming project, a horror flick that Bennett says features more good humor than gore.
The open house also introduces the two-month-old commercial division geared to creating television commercials for mid-level local companies and music videos.
Visitors will also get hints about future projects, which may include joint ventures with an East India film company.
But it’s his team of in-house movie-makers – including Lisa Hope, line producer on “A Relative Thing,” business manager Quinn Rudee, production manager Brittany Klous – that Bennett is most excited about.
The home team has worked in concert with the Seattle-based producers for “A Relative Thing,” Victor Keppler and Steve Edmiston of EKE pictures.
“I like the concept of ‘in-house,’” he said, “because it focuses the work better. Most big movies are put together by people consulting lists and making the calls by cell phones.
“We take an ‘anti-fragmentation’ approach, so there’s a community aspect that informs the finished film.”
The team-building effort has been key to making Hat Factory viable over the long haul, Bennett says.
“The kind of team that we’ve out together on two films is just really sturdy,” he said. “It’s something that everyone’s been noticing – that there’s a real strong energy and force here.”
Bennett is currently assembling a board of directors in place, and looking for interns for the new production, which is slated to be filmed next winter.
After that, the movie-maker will turn his attention to building Hat Factory a permanent home.
“We plan on building a mini-movie studio right here on the island,” Bennett said. “Our dream is to buy this property.”
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Bainbridge-based film production company Hat Factory Studios holds an open house 6-9 p.m. Aug. 7 at the production studio at 310 Madison Avenue South.
See trailers and clips from completed films, and get information on upcoming productions and ways to become involved.
Refreshments will be served at this free event. Call 842-3632 for more information.
