It's not often that a film set in the world of yacht racing crosses my desk, but such is the case with Gareth Kelly's Fresh to Frightening: The Sharon Green Story, a 19-minute doc short that screened this past week at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that is set smack dab in the middle of the yacht racing world as it tells the engaging story of celebrated yacht racing photographer Sharon Green. 

From the Americas Cup to epic tales of billionaires racing across the seas, competitive yacht racing has long been a machismo-fueled world long dominated by men. The images of these men and their races have long been captured by a small, elite group of competitive yacht racing photographers. 

In the 80's, things started to change when a young Sharon Green was inspired by her father's successful Canada's Cup endeavors. Fueled by this excitement, Green tiptoed her way, mostly by helicopter, into the world of competitive yacht racing photography and has become one of her generation's most acclaimed photographers. Fresh to Frightening, a title that refers to Green's favorite conditions in which to photograph, is a remarkably beautiful film to behold that vividly captures Green's immense talent and adventurous spirit. 

Kelly, a lifelong sailor himself, first met Green at a local yacht club and became even more impressed with her after doing a short profile piece on her for a local paper. The more he discovered, the more incredible she became. 

Kelly, indeed, does capture Green's awesomeness and amazing gifts throughout Fresh to Frightening's short but eventful running time. Fresh to Frightening is infused with those rare moments that take your breath away and the utter excitement that Green is able to capture in her photographs. 

Fresh to Frightening is an entertaining, inspirational doc about a woman whose story deserves to be told and whose images aren't easily forgotten. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic