A3F 24 Hour Film Challenge Recap

Last Thursday Brett and I were invited by our good friend and star of the upcoming On the Count of 3, Alan Johnson, to attend the Almost Famous 24 Hour Film Challenge screening. We were more than eager to attend.

For about 9 years now the Almost Famous Film Festival have been hosting a 48 hour film challenge, this was their second annual 24 hour challenge. Basically, the challenge works like this. Teams register, they meet and our advised of the guidelines. This year teams had to have someone in their short film open or close a box, there had to be a hidden agenda, and the line “let’s get this over with” had to be used. Once the guidelines are given, teams have 24 hours to write a script, film it, edit it and turn it in. Films must be between 1-5 minutes.

Going into this, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I know A3F has built a solid reputation over the years, but with only 24 hours to create and finish a short film, I wasn’t positive the results would be all that pretty.

I walked away very impressed.

37 teams entered with the top 20 being chosen for the screening. While I didn’t necessarily like every film, I did see everyone has an achievement and appreciate what was accomplished. I don’t care what the final results are, finishing a film in 24 hours is amazing and something every filmmaker should be proud of.

While going into detail on every film will take too much time, I did want to highlight three that stood out to me and a few of the winners.

 

Crosswinds by Nine Buddhas

Crosswinds was about a man in prison with a hidden secret. This was not only the most adult, definitely a hard R, but this film had far and away the most production value out of all the films screened that night. This didn’t appear to be the first rodeo for the Nine Buddhas gang. My only issue with this film is that it may have been too much story for a five minute short. It was sort of tough to grasp the whole thing. I’d really love to see this idea expanded on.

Side note: I was sitting next to the Nine Buddhas team and they were super nice and very energetic. Even offered us some popcorn!

 

Paul & Clyde by East Africa

Paul & Clyde is about two roommates that find a hand in their backyard. Panicked, one of them, I’m going to say Clyde (I feel like a jerk but I can’t remember which character was which), screams out and draws the attention of the local authorities. After Paul is able to convince the rent-a-cop that shows up that there’s nothing to see here, Clyde kills him just in case. Once you get the taste for murder, well I’m sure you know the rest.

This film was a lot of fun and seemed to have a lot of energy. You could tell it was made by guys having a good time. Plus, East Africa is a great name for your production team.

 

Six by Luke Hansen Media

Six I think was hands down the audience favorite of the night. It was about two detectives that have an escaped convict at gun point in the middle of nowhere. The convict has a box that contains quite the secret. This felt like a skit you could see on Important Things with Demetri Martin or Mr. Show. I say this with high praise. Quality short film. I can’t wait to see what Luke Hansen and company do in the future.

 

Audience Top 3

Six by Luke Hansen Media

The Princess by Acid Baboon

Flat End by N’Raged Media

Best Director

Lee Quarrie – Second Chance by True Libra Films

Outstanding Individual Performances

Gracie Dufresne – Flat End by N’Raged Media

David Henderson – Six by Luke Hansen Media

For a list of all winners please visit TheA3F.net

 

written by Christopher Coffel