Five o’clock on Friday afternoon is when many people breathe a sigh of relief that their week is over and they have 48 hours to relax.
This past Friday, a group of local film buffs occupied the auditorium at Tilly Hall with energy drinks in hand. They were ready to do anything but relax.
It was the kick-off to Fredericton’s fifth annual 48 Hour Film Competition. The competition calls teams of a maximum of 10 to create a film up to 10 minutes long. But 48 hours to write, shoot and produce a film isn’t the only challenge the teams face. Inspiration packets were handed out to the 20 teams in attendance.
Left Face is a team made up of seven men who were eager to get their hands on the inspiration. Charlie Harding is one of the seven and is directing their short film.
“A floppy disk, x-ray of a turtle and the location is a classroom. That’s what we have to work with,” said Harding.
Dr. Robert Gray is a co-sponsor of the competition and a professor of film and creative writing at UNB.
“You can use the items from your package as little or as much as you want in your film. There is an award for best use of inspiration items as well,” said Gray.
With the tight time limit, teams pile out of Tilly Hall brainstorming where they want to begin.
The environment seems so much more than a competition. It’s about working together as artists. Each team member has something different to bring to the table and that is what creates these 48 hour films.
Ryan Barton hosts the afternoon show at the Fox FM. He has been a part of the competition since year one and is coming back for more.
“It is cool to see all the different types of movies people end up doing, between comedy, drama and weird science fiction ones. I think there will be a lot of horror this year with Halloween being at the same time as the competition,” said Barton.
The weekend is an opportunity for the filmmakers and the city to experience Fredericton’s arts scene in a different light.
“The amount of creativity that is in the city as far as filmmaking goes is really brought out on the weekend. Until I got involved, I didn’t realize that there were as many people out there making movies or trying to break in the area as there was. I knew it was something I was interested in but kind of thought, how am I going to that around here?”
“There is a really great community out there of artistic people and filmmakers and it’s great to see people come together over a weekend and have some fun,” said Barton.
Acting in film has always been a passion for Barton and being able to watch a film come together in 48 hours is an experience hard to pass up.
“I don’t see it during the editing process and I kind of like that idea of letting it be a surprise when I see it for the first time. It’s cool to react to the film and experience others reactions as well. It’s great to see it all come together,” he said.
There is a screening of all the films in MacLaggan Hall Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
