Help for Everyone

In the modern age of consultants and coaches for everything, it’s very likely that an alley in your neighborhood could contain a vignette like the one depicted in this next movie.

Team 938 put together this entry for the 2010 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project. They opted for simplicity and solid production values. This was an approach that worked.  The audience was charmed, and the jurists had nice things to say about the acting and the story.

This film achieved nominations in both the Best Actor and Best Actress category.

Tastes Like Albatross

In the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project, there’s a phrase that will always speak of authenticity from now on.  When we say “tastes like albatross” we mean it’s the real thing.

Take a look at this winning entry from the 2010 SF 48HFP and you’ll see why we say this.

We think we might eat vegan for a while after having seen this.

An Age Forgotten

Jesse Tarnoff and gang at 4QR98 Pass have done it again. Their entry in the 2010 San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project delighted audiences and polled very well in the Audience Choice award voting.

This over-the-top epic fantasy is reminiscent of their San Jose 2009 entry, Nellius 5000.

Now they have us expecting a trilogy.  Will they appear again in San Jose?

Justice Resonant

The creators of this 2010 entry in the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project landed on two magical ingredients for their movie. The first was a classic form of horror from across cultural traditions: the Ghost Story.  The other was the deep need in all of us to encounter justice.

There certainly was a great deal of justice when the audience applauded at the end of this story. The story of Okiku.

We believe this is one that we may watch again and again as we show it to our friends.

Wishes Do Come True

Then look out!

This entry by Team Rocket in the SF 48 Hour Film Project for 2010 had audiences rolling in the aisles. Cat lovers and movie lovers alike responded to this with applause and votes.

I think we all anthropomorphize our beloved pets, but this woman just took it a little too far.

This film took home the Audience Choice Award for its screening group as well as a Best Actress Award for Pearl Marrill (Gigi Cook, the Psychic Love Consultant)! Congrats to the folks at Team Rocket for a great year and a delicious short film!

Students in Action

San Jose production company Element 151 works with local youth to encourage those interested in filmmaking. In the summer of 2009, they mentored a group of 30 students from area high schools to create this PSA.

The program, Summer Film Initiative (SFI) is an ongoing effort to encourage and support young people.  Funding for the effort has become increasingly difficult to find in the face of reduced availability of civic grants. You can help them directly by contributing to their fund raising efforts here at their Kickstarter site. Even a small $20 contribution can help them continue this important work.

The Chief Suspects

The results are in! (Okay, at least some of them are.)

Audience Choice ballots from the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project have been counted and we have our “chief suspects.”  At the screenings for the San Francisco event (we had five nights of that), audience members were invited to vote for their three favorite movies each night.  The ballots have been counted and we can say who finished at the top of the heap.

These are the finalists in the polling, and you’ll have to be satisfied with knowing the three top finishers in each Screening Group until we announce the winners at the Highlights Night and Awards Ceremony on July 18th.  Here they are in alphabetical order:

Screening Group A – Albatross, Beaten Path, Nexus

Screening Group B – 3 Sisters, Something to Die For, Thief in the Night

Screening Group C – Okiku, One of Two, The Yesterage

Screening Group D – Antique Plates and You, Leftovers, Untied

Screening Group E – How To Fly A Kite – Ladycat – The Vault

If we find any of them presented online, we’ll link to them in this article.  If you know of any, pony up with the URL in a comment.

Movie Moments from San Francisco

There were 66 short films submitted to the San Francisco 48 Hour Film Project this year.

The following clip is about the length of a typical 48HFP film and it contains clips from many of this year’s top films.

Take a look and see if you’re intrigued by what you find.  If so, you can see many of the top films at the Highlights and Awards night on July 18th in San Francisco.

Details on the Highlights show will be found on the San Francisco City web page.