48 hours, but timeless film fest fame
The Arts Alliance held its third annual 48-Hour Film Festival on March 22. Participants had two days to write, film and edit their submissions, which were shown this weekend at Fearon Hall on St. Bernardine’s campus.
On Saturday, about 150 people attended the showing of five-to-10-minute films and a red carpet gala beforehand.
The Arts Alliance assigned participants a line of dialogue, a prop and the choice of using one or both of two film genres in their movies. The required line was, “Are you talking to me?” and the prop was a VHS tape with “Do not rewind” printed on it.
The Arts Alliance showed seven films, though one was submitted after the deadline and wasn’t eligible for awards.
Here are those who won prizes:
- People’s Choice winner: Pfaff and Furious’ “Counterfeit Gum” mixed the genres of documentary and crime
- 2nd place People’s Choice: Stress Head’s “Rerun,” which chose between the genres of noir and slapstick
- 3rd place People’s Choice: Thomstead Productions’ “Rivalry” combined genres of suspense and house party
- Special Mention award: Spanavision’s “Ukulele of Destiny,” a musical and thriller
- Quirky Character award: Jimmy Callahan as Alien in Porkchop Express’ “The Big Decision,” a mix of space fantasy and Bollywood
- Board Award: Porkchop Express’ “The Big Decision”
Other teams and their films include W.A.S.T.E. Express’ “The Sound,” which was assigned the genres of mystery and teen comedy. 5M’s “Static” was given slapstick and science fiction genres but submitted its film late.
While attendees voted on which participants they thought should win awards, Geoff Binns-Calvey, a professional rigger and special effects designer, shared some of his tips and tricks. He performed a live demonstration where he launched peppers and chicken into the air to collide, and how he stages splashing milk, showing the behind-the-scenes of how food commercials create such scenes.
The Arts Alliance plans to host a how-to course later this year to teach those who want to participate in their future film festivals the basics of recording and editing a short movie.
The Arts Alliance is asking participants for permission to post their films on its website so those who couldn’t attend the festival can enjoy them too.
