Living With the Glamour of Cinema and the Quiet of Ruskin

By Mitch Traphagen

mitch@observernews.net

RUSKIN - Meeting Rob Tregenza and his wife J.K. Eareckson for the first time speaks volumes about the many aspects of their lives. At first glance, Tregenza and his wife appear to be a study in contrasts. In reality, however, it is likely that few people are as comfortable with themselves and with their lives as this couple.

Tregenza is a filmmaker, a professor at the University of Tampa and the founder and director of the Tampa International Film Festival, which is currently underway. His films have appeared at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. As any aspiring filmmaker can tell you, no one just shows up at any of those festivals. They are by invitation only and the invitations are few and far between. Those festivals represent the big time.

Living aboard a sailboat in Ruskin, Florida is about as far away from the lights, glamour and dressed to be seen action of the Cannes Film Festival as anyone can possibly get. It is definitely a contrast from the stereotypical image of life in the world of cinema.

The contrast continues as Tregenza and Eareckson appear for their interview. Eareckson jumps off their 41 foot boat wearing a colorful tropical shirt, jeans and white sneakers. Tregenza appears wearing a long sleeved black shirt and well-worn cowboy boots. His longish silver hair and a fixed, steely gaze suggest his immersion in the worlds of art and academia. It is definitely a contrast from the Jimmy Buffett world of liveaboard sailors.

And then he begins to speak and the contrasts disappear. Both Tregenza and Eareckson reveal themselves to be comfortable with their lives, with each other and in their own skin. There is no contrast there, they are doing just what they want to do.

This interview was done just one day before their project, the highly visible Tampa International Film Festival was to begin. One of the largest newspapers in Florida, the St. Petersburg Times, had recently run a full page article on him. Several other media outlets have written about both him and the festival. The festival is a big project and hopefully as many people will be enjoying the films as will be watching to see if it is a success. Tregenza and Eareckson, however, appeared to hold an optimism that seems to be a centerpiece in their lives.

"There are three kinds of people that go to film festivals," said Tregenza. "The first group shares in the culture. Cubans will go to see a Cuban film. The second group are people that are interested in the aesthetics of cinema, perhaps to see a specific director. The third group, I think, are more interesting. They are people that like to travel, like to see other cultures. They are sort of what I call cultural scuba divers. They are not from that culture but they like to see it."

According to Tregenza, the Tampa festival is designed for those three groups. "There are films that are specifically cultural opportunities," he said. "There are films for those who are interested in cinema and there are films for the third group who will say, 'Hey, I haven't seen a film from France in a long time.' There are films for them too."

"I think international film, because of its unique view on the world gives us as Americans the opportunity to reevaluate things, maybe connect ourselves to other ways of looking at the world, other ways of thinking about things," he continued. "It's a valuable cultural opportunity."

The Tampa International Film Festival runs through April 13 at the Tampa Theatre, the University of Tampa and at Channelside Theatre and Cinemas. The festival offers 21 films from more than 10 countries, including two Cuban films. To Tregenza, those two films, like the other films are hoped to represent a view of that part of the world. They also represent a recognition of the Cuban culture found in Tampa. "Hopefully we won't have any political implications," he said. "They are just Cuban films."

The wide sphere of international film making and production most certainly does not typically include Ruskin, Florida. Yet for Tregenza and Eareckson it is home, it is their place. For them, living aboard a sailboat does not appear to be at odds with the somewhat ostentatious life-style that many perceive about the film industry.

"We've always loved boats," said Tregenza. "When we were offered the job at the University of Tampa we thought well why come to Florida to do what we've always done, why not go to Florida and do something that we'd like to do. Our daughter is in Cleveland so she's out of the nest."

Tregenza, who earned his degree from UCLA, is no stranger to Los Angeles, thought by many to be the mecca of the film business. "It's hard to think when you are surrounded by that cacophony," he said. "It's exciting to leave Tampa and come down here to Ruskin," Eareckson added.

The couple laughed when asked if they ever drive up to Brandon to see 'Earnest Goes to Hollywood' movies. "We got to Tampa and we come home to Ruskin," Tregenza said. "Brandon is a horrifying concept. We go to Sam's Club and that's about it."

"I went to the tea room for the first time recently," Eareckson said. "We buy from the Ruskin Redneck Trading Company." In all, Ruskin is where they are happy to be, with one exception. "There is no good bread here," Tregenza said with a smile.

Tregenza's most recent film, Inside/Out will play at the film festival at 6:30pm on April 13 at Channelside. The film, a confluence of U.S., Swiss, French and Canadian production clearly fits the international bill. It is set with a psychiatric hospital as the backdrop and has been described as stark, wintry. Yet even so, a contrast appears in that Tregenza provides a colorful optimism that may be found in the black and white film.

"I had this idea about dealing with institutions and people institutionalized in America," he said. It reflects on our personalities and on our culture. And it reflects on what it is like to be institutionalized , to be locked inside something when you want to be out."

Inside/Out will be making its Florida premiere and is the only one of Tregenza's three films that will be shown at the festival.

With three films, critical acclaim and now even a major film festival to his credit, Tregenza is not in a hurry to add more milestones. "I love teaching and I will continue to do that," he said. When the time comes, I'll find something that I want to make a film of. I've gotten to the point where I'm not driven to make movies. I've made three films and I'm more patient, I can wait to see what God has in store."

In the end it is apparent that both Tregenza and his films are not so much a study in contrasts as they are a study in dynamics. There are no dichotomies, there is a long spectrum of things that somehow all neatly fit together. Things like cowboy boots and sailboats. Things like wintry films about psychiatric institutions and an eternal optimism.

"I think you have to face the world with optimism," he said. If you don't have that then you are faced with living in a world of darkness and that's wrong. It's important to have an informed optimism."

For Tregenza and Eareckson, these things reflect a life that works well.