Call for entries for international 48-Hour Film Project

Short film makers, students and pundits have only a few weeks left before the deadline for this year's prestigious 48hour Film Project closes. The 48HFP challenges entrants to write, shoot, edit and deliver a short film in 48 hours.

The 48HFP is the most prestigious timed film competition with 120 cities participating around the world and approximately 22 000 entries every year, says convenor Hisham Samie. Samie is a producer at Benchfilms, which won the 48HFP last year with their film Past Tense' - an opportunity that saw the Bench team walk the red carpet at Cannes.

The competition gives local film makers a good chance at being recognised internationally. The challenges that we face are very similar challenges to what other production companies face, including the major players, says co-convenor and Benchfilms producer Margaret Zambonini. We are proof that South Africans are very capable of being recognised on the same platform as any other filmmaker in the world.

The Best Film from Cape Town will be in the running for top honours in Hollywood, California at Filmapalooza in 2015, the 48 Hour Film Project's annual awards. The top 14 films from this worldwide event will screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner.

The exposure and hype for Benchfilms was great, says Samie. We followed our film to LA and Cannes where we got to meet fellow filmmakers from all round world and expand on our network beyond South Africa.

On 31st October 2014 participating teams will gather at Cape Audio College where they will be given a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue they must work into their film. All films must be submitted on 2 November 2014 at 7pm sharp. Late entries - even by a minute - will be disqualified.

This year, Cape Town will be one of a record 125 cities worldwide - from Beijing to Lisbon - competing in the 48 Hour Film Project. Submitted films will be screened for the public at Ster Kinekor Nouveau, and judged by a panel of experts.

Registration costs R1000 per team. There are a limited amount of spaces so enter now to avoid disappointment. Entries close on 20 October 2014.

Samie says the competition gives filmmakers a unique experience. The pressure of time is something all filmmakers are used to, but when the usual process of making a film is compressed in to 48Hrs, the results are interesting, he says. You are forced get rid of the fluff and focus only what is needed.

Teams draw a genre from a hat on Friday at 7pm. You then need to write a script in a few hours, shoot, edit and deliver by 7pm on Sunday evening.

Teams are required to incorporate a few elements into the script: specific characters and their names, a prop and a line of dialogue. This information will be provided along with your genre at the kick off at 7pm on the Friday evening. These elements ensure that there is no pre-planning.

Having a cohesive team is vital, says Samie. Making sure everyone has their role and trusting that person in that role is really important.

For us there was a tremendous team dynamic and this is what worked, says Zambonini. We each knew each other's strengths. We keep a very calm set. A team working together like this can achieve so much in a short period of time.

The best advice is to focus on story and keep it simple, Samie says.

For more information, and entry details, go to www.48hourfilm.com/en/capetown/

Contact:

Hisham Samie

Producer, Benchfilms

City Producer, 48 Hour Film Project

info@benchfilms.co.za

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