Over the course of just three days, 23 teams of filmmakers in the Ottawa region wrote, directed and edited their own short films while competing in the Ottawa International Film Festival’s 72-Hour Film Challenge.
The mobs of anxious competitors were given royal blue gift bags, which set out the criteria for the films, at the challenge kick-off last week at Lieutenant’s Pump on Elgin Street.
Competitors had to stay within the “time-to-celebrate” theme and include sponsors in different ways to have a shot at winning the challenge. A bottle of Canadian Club, for example, had to be visible in one of the shots while a character said, “Damn right your dad drank it.”
“Making a film in 72 hours is non-stop. There’s no room for errors and there’s no room for re-shoots,” says competitor Jolanta Mojsej, a government worker who hopes to one day produce a feature film that will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival.
Teams of three to 20 people were challenged to make a film between five and 15 minutes long, to be delivered by the Jan. 29 deadline.
Online voting for the films will run from Feb. 6-10 on the festival's website.
The 10 films with the most votes will be screened at Lieutenant’s Pump on Feb. 16, where judges will choose the winner.
The winning team will take home a film-editing program and a production rental package from sponsors Adobe and Parktown, a prize valued at more than $10,000.
Since the criteria for the films are only revealed at the beginning of the challenge, Mojsej says it’s difficult for teams to prepare anything ahead of time. That adds to the intensity of the challenge, she says, but it also allows the films to be raw and realistic.
“The cast members can ad-lib something which you wouldn’t get on a movie set because you’re tied to what the written dialogue is,” says Mojsej. “Here there’s a lot more leeway to just respond to the moment.”
Nina Bains, executive director of the festival, founded the film challenge in 2009 with her business partner, Shawna Kazda.
The best part about the challenge is that it brings filmmakers together, she says.
The top three films also qualify for showings at the OIFF in August, giving the filmmakers added exposure, says Bains.
Last year’s challenge winner, Polar Bear Love, was viewed across the country when it was also chosen to compete in CBC’s Short Film Face Off.
"We were very impressed with the quality of films that have come in over the years,"she says.
The comedy saw protagonist Paul try speed-dating to find a companion after winning a trip for two to Taiwan.