48-Hour Film Project
CHICAGO, IL — A prop, a line of dialogue and a sales clerk named Duncan or Denise walk into a contest. There, they are introduced to dozens of strangers, hauled away and forced to take part in bizarre roll-playing schemes for two straight days. According to confirmed reports, the strangers filmed most of the ordeal and grew increasingly agitated, excitable and paranoid from self-induced lack of sleep with each moment that passed. This is not a joke.
Well, the sock puppet on death row, okay, that was kind of a joke. And the office tool with the voodoo coffee mug. Definitely. But the Croatian woman handling ethnic dessert-related customer service calls from her home? No way. She was sexy. And that convenience store delivery boy… run of his life, man.
This is the 48-hour Film Project.
“These young kids do not have that ‘you cannot do that’ kind of attitude,” says Michael Stratta, partner in Chicago-based event marketing and film production company LimeGreen Productions. He and co-founder / partner Mishon Ellis oversaw the event, a weekend that combined the thrill of pre-production show biz brainstorming with the agony of last-minute Final Cut Pro rendering.
As veterans of the local big budget, corporate and indie film scene, they share an enthusiasm to generate all the cinemagraphic recognition they know the city deserves.
“There’s so much creative talent in Chicago that sometimes doesn’t get the spotlight,” explains Ellis, “here’s a great opportunity to promote it.”
“We stayed here until like two in the morning just waiting for teams to finish submitting because we didn’t want to have 59 teams participating,” adds Stratta, “we wanted 59 teams to turn in films.
Weeks later, when guests arrived for the festival premiere at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, the high level of excitement formed an inverse relationship with the low level of expectations. Giddy teams of wannabe actors and directors introduced mom and dad to their favorite mass com teacher. A few of the venue’s servers were largely unaware of the event and, upon hearing the contest’s quirky rules — each film must contain a coffee mug, the words “I’m sorry, you must be mistaken” and a clerk named Duncan or Denise — their ignorance became enviable. Seemed like embarrassment lurked just behind the curtain.
That changed when the show began to roll.
Jittery footage, twisted humor and bizarre plot twists rushed the audience like a speed date on acid. Inspiration came off the screen. Passion whispered in the wings. Ex-cons, introverts, bunglers and, yes, sock puppets made friends with the audience.
In the words of Beast Editorial Executive Producer Melissa Thornley, who helped judge the competition, “All of us across the board were pleasantly surprised at the level of quality.”
The filmmakers had sailed over unexplored cinematic seas on breakneck improvisation and bat out of hell creativity. They returned with impressive booty; but the the specter on screen hinted that the real climax had taken place weeks earlier, during the trip itself.
Stratta describes the night when the teams scrambled to meet the contest’s deadline as “gut wrenching.” Ellis adds, “You could whispering.”
Although that story was never told, everyone in the theater could feel it.
Published in Screen Magazine, October 2010.