“Fast, exciting, creative,” were three words Bowdoin Film Society (BFS) co-President Monica Das ’14 used to describe last weekend’s 48-Hour Film Festival.
The Festival, which began in 2008, challenges students to dedicate a single weekend to making a movie. As the name of the festival implies, participants have only 48 hours to write, cast, shoot and edit a 10-minute film. Prizes for each movie are awarded at a screening the following weekend.
BFS co-President Isabelle Franks ’14 says that the festival provides a unique opportunity for students to get involved in filmmaking while at Bowdoin.
In a preliminary meeting, participating groups pick different genres—such as action, mockumentary or drama—out of a hat.
“We always throw some wild genres in there,” Das said. “What we usually do is let them pick two, and then if they want to pick either one or combine them, that’s totally acceptable.”
The BFS provides additional loose parameters to help guide participants through the process. Typically, judges develop a theme, prop or line of dialogue that must be incorporated into each film. This year, the prop was a cardboard box and the theme was déjà vu.
“It’s very open to interpretation and is something you can show through image, I think it inspires greater variation and creativity as well,” said Frank.
At time of print, no participants were able to respond.
Das and Franks both said that though developing a film in only 48 hours can be daunting, it is a task participants take seriously.
“I’ve never really seen someone do [the festival] just as a joke,” said Das. “If you really care enough to make a film, you care enough to do it…that said, part of what’s freeing…is that you don’t have to make something…perfect. Especially if you get a genre like mockumentary, it’s just asking to be silly, but that’s kind of what’s so fun about it.”
Franks echoed the sentiment: “you’re not going to get a masterpiece in 48 hours. But if you have a lot of fun and you learn a lot, that’s what’s important.”
The judges’ panel this year includes both members and non-members of the BFS. Films will be judged on how well they fit within their respective genre, how effectively they express the theme of déjà vu, and how well they incorporate the box prop.
The festival culminates this weekend in a screening of the entries. Historically, it is one of BFS’s most popular screenings, and Das and Franks both said that it is one of their favorite parts of the festival.
“The real fun—besides for the people who are making the movies, which is an amazing experience—are the premieres,” said Franks. “All of the [filmmaker’s] friends come, all of their friends of friends come…the judges give out awards, and there’s an audience award, so the audience actually gets to vote on the films they’ve seen, which is fun.”
The three films made this year—“Followed,” “I am Who,” and “Sonny in the Stars”—will premiere this Saturday at 9 p.m. in Sills-Smith Auditorium.