Hollywood Theater in Dormont
July 31
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
What would you do if you were given a prop, one character and a single line of dialogue and had to make a movie in a mere 48 hours?
Find out who excelled at this tall order during the Pittsburgh 48 Hour Film Project’s “Best of the best” screenings and awards ceremony at The Hollywood Theater in Dormont. Enjoy all of the frenetic camera, lights and action as Pittsburgh area filmmakers show their short films to the public for the first time and compete in the project’s culminating competition.
At Friday’s lively event, 16 locally made and produced films vying for the top accolades include the inspirational flick “restart” by Pittsburgh Game Changers, Command Pictures’ comedy “Fuzz Enuttz,” Children of the Corman’s Western film, “Sara Tremaine,” the detective movie, “Change” made by So Fresh! Films and many others. Prizes will be awarded for Best Writing, Best Use of Prop, Best Costumes and more. One lucky film team will win the project’s coveted “Best Film of Pittsburgh” award, receive a trophy, cash prize and filmmaking equipment and will go on to compete at Filmapalooza 2015 in Hollywood, CA. The top 14 winners at Filmapalooza will then screen at the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2016.
How’s it all work? Each team selected the genre for its movie–in a random drawing 15 minutes before the start of the competition–and were then given nothing more than a character, a prop and a line of dialogue that must all appear in their film. Films for 2015 were made during the whirlwind weekend of July 10 which involved writing, casting, scoring and shooting four- to seven-minute works that represent 14 different genres.
For its ninth edition in Pittsburgh, 46 teams of participating filmmakers registered, with 44 final films submitted. Participating movie makers from around the city and region range in age from high school students to adults in the 60s. The resulting films were judged by a panel of film industry professionals that includes Nicholas Manganiello, producer of “La Barre” and co-founder of 3:59, Inc., filmmaker and recording engineer, Dino Gabriel DiStefano, and president and Jillian O’Neil, founder of Wright Road Productions.
Each year, the global phemon known as the 48 Hour Film Project—the world’s largest and oldest filmmaking competition—lures cinemofiles, veterans and rookies alike to race to make a movie in just one weekend. Challenging teams to complete an entire film from writing and casting to filming and editing in a fast-paced 48 hours, the project is now established in 120 cities on six continents around the world.
And what ends up on big screen is only half of the entertainment. Don’t miss the chance to see the results on Friday night. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.