Film-makers battle for city title in 48Hours festival
Christchurch film-makers will gather on Thursday night to discover who has been crowned the city winner of the 2021 48Hours film competition.
The competition has been running since 2003 and gives thousands of film-makers across New Zealand just a single weekend to write, shoot and edit a short film.
Teams are given elements such as a character and a sound effect on the Friday night that has to appear in the completed film they hand in on the Sunday night.
This year, about 80 teams entered films in Christchurch, with one team going missing in action and seven disqualified. The work of the 15 finalists will be screened at the Hoyts EntX in central Christchurch on Thursday, with the city winners announced at the end of the night.
The winners may go on to compete in the national final in Auckland, which will be judged by a panel including Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis and Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood.
Alexander ‘AJ’ Jones, Christchurch manager of the competition, said the city’s 48Hours films were always distinctive.
‘‘The vibe in Christchurch is unlike other cities,’’ he said.
‘‘There is a scrappiness to Christchurch that people really respond to.’’ He said the secret ingredient in Christchurch was desperation.
‘‘Christchurch’s film and TV sector isn’t particularly big, so for a lot of teams it is the one big thing they make all year,’’ he said.
‘‘It makes the films better. There is a desperation to all the film which enhances them. This is their one chance in the next year to make something that is creatively fulfilling.’’
‘‘People will be really impressed by the city finals. You will see some of the best short films you have ever seen.’’
The finalist films will leave the audience with a single question, he said.
‘‘How was this made in just two days?’’