Blue Hurricane by Peter B Samuels

About

This film is an expression of a daydream that capsized my mind for some months before I finally set out to create it. I had never been to the French Riviera before, but for some reason I could not get it out of my head. I would listen to music on the subway and realize my thoughts had drifted across the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea to the ancient beach towns dotted along the coast, a vacation destination wordlessly beckoning me.

It was no easy feat to make Blue Hurricane. Both out of necessity and to maintain a pure vision, I made the film completely alone and in secret. As its writer and director, I tailored the story's structure and production with the intention of ensuring that I could either operate or place the camera on a tripod, knowing that I was also the film's protagonist. I location scouted on Google street view and Airbnb and did thorough research about towns and beaches. I flew to France with my wardrobe, camera, tripod, and sound equipment.

There were certainly moments when I regretted being a one man show. The equipment, which I can normally easily manage, somehow became three times heavier after hiking up a mountain or lugging it across town. The heat literally melted an arm of my tripod. I thought I was somewhat fluent in French...it turns out that I'm not. An angry British family accosted me on the beach, mistakenly believing I was filming them. I still get a knot in my chest when I think about a certain sticky instance when my rented BMW convertible got straight-up stuck in a narrow labyrinthine street in a medieval town, with the top down, as it began to rain, and for some reason my bluetooth connected phone was playing "Baby" by Justin Beiber on repeat. You have no idea how difficult it is to drive in those ancient villages. And if you do, then you can imagine my duress.

Despite, or perhaps maybe even a bit partially due to, the hardships I encountered while making it, I love Blue Hurricane and I am extremely proud of it. In a way, I lived the film, and as I shot the final scene on the last day of filming, I experienced a similar catharsis to the character's.

This is a film that is meant to be experienced, so please, put your phone away, turn off the lights in your room, plug into your television or watch on your laptop, and turn the volume up up up and escape for 24 minutes. It might seem slow, but if you let it, it will sweep you away.

I have been pleasantly surprised that in showing Blue Hurricane to audiences that nobody asks me what the film means; they tell me what it meant to them. I hope that you enjoy it.

I asked a stranger to take this picture of me shooting a scene on an island off the coast of Cannes

Blue Hurricane is written, directed, produced, photographed, edited, and stars Peter B Samuels. The original score is composed by Peter B Samuels. Any images, designs, music, clips, etc are the property of Peter B Samuels and may not be used without written permission.