THE 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT RETURNS TO INDIANAPOLIS

INDIANAPOLIS—The 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) announces its 8th annual national filmmaking tour visiting over 50 cities around the world with more than 1000 teams competing to win the title of “Best 48 Hour Film of 2008”. The winner of each city’s competition will compete for a spot in the 48HFP Panasonic HD Filmmaker Showdown—an opportunity to win film equipment from Panasonic and a chance for national distribution.

The 48 Hour Film Project is like no other film competition. It gives filmmakers the chance to showcase their talent in an original and creative form. Filmmaking teams of all levels will write, shoot, and edit their films beginning at 7 PM on a Friday and deliver a finished movie by
7:30 PM Sunday. They will each receive a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue that they must work into their piece. Each filmmaker is responsible for putting together a cast and crew, and getting equipment and anything else he/she needs to make a movie in just a weekend. Any team, regardless of skill level, is eligible to participate in this competition.

“People in every city tell us, ‘This was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done’”, says co-executive producer Liz Langston.

“Filmmakers are rushing to get into the Project,” says co-executive producer Mark Ruppert. “It’s a weekend of stress, adrenaline, creativity and fun. And at the end of it, you have a movie.”

The 48 Hour Film Project provides exposure for the filmmakers and their films—premiers are held in each city just days after the competition. This year, the Madame Walker Theater in downtown Indianapolis will host the Indy screenings on Wednesday, June 25th. The Madame Walker Theater, at 617 Indiana Avenue, is a landmark of Indianapolis cinema.

Special “best-of” screenings will be held at Key Cinema on South Keystone starting Friday, June 27th, and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art (iMOCA) will jury their favorites for a special show July 10th, 11th and 12th at their museum space at 340 N. Senate Avenue.

The winning teams’ films will then go on to screen at the annual awards weekend, held at SXSW and Cinequest in the past.

Cities involved include: Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Washington DC, Atlanta, Fargo, Houston, Little Rock, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago, both Portlands, Miami, Des Moines, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, and more.

FILMMAKERS WANTED

The 48 Hour Film Project’s mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. The tight deadline of 48 hours puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers—emphasizing creativity and teamwork. While the time limit places an unusual restriction on the filmmakers, it is also liberating by putting an emphasis on “doing” instead of “talking.” The emphasis is also on building communities of local creative people - facilitating making new connections, showcasing skills, and celebrating what creativity and teamwork can accomplish in just one weekend.

The competition in Indianapolis will take place the weekend of June 20-22, 2008. Registration is still open. To register your own team, or to join an existing team, please visit: www.48hourfilm.com/indianapolis or contact: Phil Barcio at 317.413.8930.