Every once in a while if you are lucky, smart or know the right people, you might encounter a scene on the Santa Cruz coastline where something special is happening. The dolphins are jumping, whales are breaching, seals are playing in the shore break, pelicans are riding the breeze and powerful sets of waves are rolling through, with surfers carving their individual marks on this particular swell. A rare alignment of elements can make a day too good to miss, with wildlife, weather and humans all in harmony. It is even more uncommon for an event this positive to happen on land, but a movie premiere Thursday was one of those rare occasions.

Few things have ever united the Santa Cruz surf community more than Shawn “Barney” Barron, and this new documentary created by his longtime friend and collaborator Josh Pomer lived up to and surpassed all expectations. The Rio Theatre was bursting at the seams with the considerable energy of Santa Cruz’s surfing elite.

Filmmaker Pomer could be found before the show greeting people in the lobby and talking to Richard Schmidt, Jeff Clark, Homer Henard and countless other “core lord” legends of Santa Cruz surf. Dave “Nelly” Nelson, Guerin Myall and Jason “Willz” Williams were documenting the event. Barney’s sister Amelia was selling merch and showcasing an original painting in her undying effort to keep her brother’s art and spirit alive with 9Barn.com.

Surf brands (Volcom and MERGE4), and surf shops (Buell, Arrow and Pac Wave) donated prizes to be raffled off before the show with Ken “Skin Dog” Collins as the MC. Pearson Arrow Surfboards owner Bob Pearson graced the stage with some sage words about what Barron meant to him and his community. The Brodsky bros were present with Osha B “DJ Selecta 7” masterfully playing just the right music to warm up the event. And Brenna Darcey, Barron’s long-time girlfriend at the time of his death, was there to witness it all — taking in the vibes of a truly heartfelt gathering. By the moment the lights dimmed and the projector shone, it had already been a notable time, but then the movie started and the audience embarked on a surreal and inspiring journey.

The first thing that struck me about the film was the use of AI animation to transform Barron and his art in key moments into a surfer-artist-superhero. Barron loved surfing, superheroes and art. He was also always on the cutting edge of whatever was happening in culture, and had he lived longer, he surely would have harnessed the power of AI artistically. Here he was larger than life being shown more realistically than you could possibly capture with a camera alone. To truly show who Barron is, you need more than photography; it requires artistry and storytelling. Pomer said that his brother introduced him to the artist Marc Donahue, who contributed the AI animations to the film. The addition of this surreal element completed the perfect expression of who Barron was: A powerful avatar of the imagination.

Pomer made a name for himself as a filmmaker by documenting Santa Cruz surf culture, and he hasn’t shied away from telling the sometimes-brutal truth about it. His film “The Westsiders” courageously chronicled some of the darker aspects of life growing up in a town that was ruled by violent personalities in and out of the water. He has proved himself to be a filmmaker with vision. Pomer has shown uncomfortable truths in order to shine light on the truly remarkable contributions of his heroes, the surfers. Barron was one of those beacons of light and in “Particle Fever” he delves much more deeply into what made the man unique.

In order to explore this complex identity, he interviewed people crucial to Barron’s life: notably, his high school art teacher and neighbor, Katie Harper. Pomer related “what she had to say about Barney’s art helped me to understand it more, and to appreciate the importance of art for all people, but especially people like Shawn with a bipolar condition.” Harper discussed how Barron approached making art from an intuitive and emotional perspective, creating amazing expressionist works of art. It was from this point of view that the film explored its most important and wide-ranging theme: mental health and the healing power of art.

Barron achieved great success in his lifetime with innovative surfing, but people are still catching up to the amazing output of painting, sculpture and mixed media that he created. This film showcases him as an important contemporary artist, one of Santa Cruz’s true originals. It was evident from the opening sequence to the closing moments that this cinematic vision was a testament of Pomer’s sincere love and genuine interest in the life and art of Shawn “Barney” Barron, and it was a stunning film to experience.

Pomer is a devoted father of two young children, so he isn’t quite sure what is going to happen with the film next. Will it be at film festivals, showing at a Santa Cruz theater or streaming on digital platforms? Hopefully, it will be seen on all of them as its message is critically important in our day and age, with the timeless vision of Pomer and Barron combined in “Particle Fever.”