MAINE, USA — If you work well on a deadline, the Maine Film Association just might have the perfect event for you.
They are launching their first-ever Winter Film Challenge, an event where teams write, shoot, direct, and edit a film in just a matter of days.
Emma Gregg serves as the Vice President of MFA and explains how the competition will work: "Teams from across the state have 72 hours to write, produce, and edit a short film. Those films will be screened a week later, in front of a panel of judges, and prizes will be given out ... cash prizes, gift certificates. We’re really hoping for wonderful networking and just a chance for the community to come together and really see the creative chops in this community."
Each team will be given a different genre for their film. Genres can include areas like science fiction, fantasy, or action. The only thing each film will have in common is a prop and one line of dialogue that all teams will have to incorporate into their project.
"So that kind of is this cohesion throughout but also helps in that you can’t do anything before the actual 72 hours," adds Emma.
The teams literally have no idea what they will set out to film at the start of the competition. They are given a genre, and off they go!
"You can have this idea of ‘Oh, I have this great story for a comedy,’ or ‘I have this great story for a western.' Maybe those ideas have been throwing around but suddenly you get film noir as your genre which is the complete opposite and you really have to re-think. You just have to create, and you have to do, and at the end you have something. I think for creatives, having a deadline I think is a really valuable thing," she said.
Teams really pull in a breadth of talent: someone to write, someone to shoot, actors, and editors. Team members can serve in more than one role, and try out new positions on the project.
"Maybe you were gonna be behind the camera, but maybe you want to try acting. Or your actor bailed on you, so now you kind of have to fill that role. I think it’s a great lesson in filmmaking," Emma said.
MFA has limited the number of teams to 20 and has already reached that number. They've started a waiting list as well. The events around the competition will be both in-person and virtual, so teams can compete from across the state. All teams that deliver a film and follow all the rules will be eligible for awards.
"Our panel of judges will review the films and select. We not only have the best film but we also have the best direction, best cinematography, best acting and it’s a great way to kind of showcase how their film has excelled," explained Emma. "That’s another thing we were excited about is that you could see your film on a big screen, on a movie screen, which is really a real treat. The amount of support we have gotten back from the creative community has been absolutely fantastic."
Emma continues. "This is such a great way to get involved in the film community so if anyone is interested, whether just seeing the films themselves, if they just wanna get on a team ... you need zero experience to really be a part of this competition. We just wanna keep Maine creating great films."
The 72-hour competition takes place Feb. 3-6. The screening of all the completed film entries will take place at the Nickelodeon Theater in Portland on Feb. 10, and they will hold other screening events throughout the state at later dates. If you would like to learn more about the Maine Film Association, click here, or the Winter Film Challenge, click here.