MORGANTON, N.C.,None — When Florida filmmaker Matt Morris first came across a magazine article about a barbershop known more for the bluegrass played in its back room than for its haircuts, he was fresh out of college and "just looking for a good subject for a film."
But after visiting The Barber Shop in Drexel in 2007 and wrapping up a short documentary on it in 2008, he found he had not only captured a "dying way of life" but also something that would become a part of him.
The film, just less than 20 minutes long, is titled "Pickin' and Trimmin'" and already an award winner. On Nov. 18, Morris learned it is up for a Midsouth Regional Emmy Award. It is one of four films nominated in the documentary/cultural category, according to the Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Morris directed and edited the film, and Paul Bonesteel and David Schmidt with Bonesteel Films in Asheville assisted with it.
"We were stunned and excited since we didn't know it was even in the running," said Carroll Anthony, whose late father, Lawrence Anthony, opened the barbershop in 1964 on Main Street. "We are very proud of the film and film producer Matt Morris. We never even dreamed this could happen."
Lawrence Anthony, who died two years ago, and fellow barber David Shirley are featured in the film.
It opens with scenes from around Drexel, the small town abandoned by a once thriving furniture business.
Birds chirp and a train whistles in the background.
Then Lawrence Anthony appears in the film, cutting hair and joking with a customer of 50 years.
After a brief history of the barbershop, the film moves to footage of a lively and crowded bluegrass session in the back room.
The film goes back and forth between the music, interviews with musicians, shaves and haircuts, tall tales and more history lessons before ending with a ballad about the barbershop.
"I was there for most of the filming," Carroll Anthony said. "The great thing about this film is that it is real. Nothing was staged. It was recorded just as it happened and as it does every week."
The film captures the welcoming and relaxing atmosphere his father and Shirley created.
"Pop opened the doors to everyone and made them feel welcome," Carroll Anthony said.
Morris said walking into the barbershop was like walking back in time.
He said, "I thought the barbershop was a perfect time capsule of the type of Old South I would hear my mom tell stories about growing up but had never experienced firsthand. I loved that when you're in the shop, time slows down and you realize the important things in life — friendship, fellowship and enjoying great music. No one is ever under any pressure to get a haircut, no one performs there for money, everyone is doing it just to have a bit of fun. Also the broiled peanuts are terrific."
Over the years, preserving the musical heritage has become a bigger part of the shop than cutting hair, Carroll Anthony said.
Shirley is still there cutting hair and the music plays on, starting around noon on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
But, as Shirley says in the film, there are no set times for when the musicians show up. They just come and start playing.
Preserving the building so the music can continue is important, too.
Carroll Anthony said his father's last wish was to "keep the doors open and keep the music going. So far, so good."
But the building needs work. Carroll Anthony said next on the renovation list is installing a new heating and cooling system.
When Lawrence Anthony died, the family set up the Barbershop Preservation Fund to help with renovation costs. Morris plugs the fund on his website, www.MattMorrisFilms.com.
He said, "I made the film available online so people can get to know the shop. I'm currently working on a creative music campaign to get the word out to a much larger audience."
Copies of Morris' film are available at the shop for $10 and the proceeds go to the fund.
Carroll Anthony and Morris are grateful for the opportunity to capture Lawrence Anthony in the film before he died.
"When Matt Morris came to Pop with the idea of making a film about the Barber Shop," Carroll said, "little did we know that in two short years we would lose him (Lawrence). This wonderful film captured the heart of the music and Pop's professional life. Our family could not have purchased a more fitting memorial to him, and we are thankful to have this to pass on to the rest of the world."
Morris said Lawrence Anthony's death hit him hard.
"I was honored to be able to capture him on film so that so many people, especially his family, would have an artifact of how he lived his life," he said. "The barbershop is definitely an important part of me. If I hadn't been there to film it, lots of people wouldn't have known about it."
Morris said the film premiered at Aspen Shortsfest in 2008 and screened at 60 film festivals around the world. It won the award for best documentary short at the Florida Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival. As the festival circuit came to an end, it started screening on PBS affiliates around the country.
The Midsouth Regional Emmy Award show is March 17 in Nashville at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
"It has a one in four chance of a win," Carroll Anthony said of "Pickin' and Trimmin". "How awesome would that be for our little town of Drexel?"