And the Winners Are...
What filmmaking teams can create in 48 Hours
by Staff
The films were made and delivered on Sunday, October 16. Toronto filmmaking teams had 48 hours to make a short films and get them in by the 7:30 p.m. Sunday deadline. It’s all part of the 48-Hour Film Project, which now takes place in 100 cities around the world.
The Toronto submissions will be shown at The Revue on Monday, October 24, in two screenings, at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The Audience Award for each screening (one ballot per person) and the Best Film of 2011 will be announced on Tueday, with prizes supplied by Sony, Big City Lights and the 48 HFP. The winning film goes to New Mexico – and if it does well there, to Cannes.
Tickets are available from 6:00 p.m. before the screening at the theatre box-office. $10 a screening or $15 for double-feature.
The 48-Hour Film Project is the oldest and largest timed film competition in the world. It's mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. The tight 48-hour deadline puts the focus squarely on the filmmaking, emphasizing creativity and teamwork and “doing” instead of “talking.”
The emphasis is also on building communities of local creative people, facilitating making new connections, showcasing skills, and celebrating what creativity and teamwork can accomplish in just one weekend. In 2010, more than 38,000 filmmakers in 80 cities participated.
“In the indie film world, vastly more films are started than ever see completion,” said Liz Langston Langston, co-Executive Producer of the 48-Hour Film Project, who helped launch the project in Washington D.C. “The 48HFP changes that. Ready or not, our teams turn in a completed film. It gets them over the perfectionist hurdle that blocks so many good projects.”
“We're experiencing tremendous growth internationally," said Mark Ruppert, co-Executive Producer of the 48-Hour Film Project. "Seeing the diversity of the films, the different filming styles, and the wide range of stories from around the world has been phenomenal."
Filmmaking teams of all levels begin at 7:00 p.m. on a Friday and deliver a finished 4 to 7 minute film by 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Each team is assigned a genre, character, prop, and line of dialogue that they must work into their film.
They are responsible for putting together a cast and crew, and getting equipment and anything else necessary to make a movie in just a weekend. Any team, regardless of skill level, is eligible to participate in this competition.