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By Liam Verster

Sept. 15-17

B.C.’s first ’48 Hour Film Project’ to be held in Vernon

Aug 9, 2023 | 12:45 PM

Vernon will be the first B.C. community to host an international competition that sees filmmakers create an entire short film in a limited amount of time.

The 48-Hour Film Project is making its B.C. and Western Canadian debut in Vernon this fall.

The competition, which is a global event that takes place in over 100 cities and regions around the world each year, sees participants write, direct, shoot and edit a short film in just 48 hours.

“Atlantic Canada and Toronto are the only other places in the country that have held events,” Harrison Coe, co-producer of the 48 Hour Film Project Okanagan, said.

“We are especially excited to be able to hold this exiting celebration of film in lieu of our inaugural Sundog Festival of Arts and Culture in Vernon and B.C. Culture Days.”

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The 48-Hour Film Project Okanagan will begin Friday, September 15, with a kickoff event at the Vernon Towne Theatre at 5:30 p.m.

Registered teams will draw the film genre out of a hat as well as the elements required for their respective films at the kickoff event, and then teams will have to write, shoot, direct and edit their short films through the weekend.

“Teams can come from anywhere in B.C., but the stipulation is that someone needs to be in attendance at our kickoff event in Vernon, as that’s where they will pick out the genre of their film,” Heath Fletcher, the other co-producer, said.

“Each film must also have a prop, character and line of script that is provided at the kickoff event. Then they go make their film over the 48-hour period and upload and submit it on the Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.”

The films will be reviewed by a panel of judges made up from a selection of industry professionals and experts.

The judges will hand out awards for the films, and the winner of the top prize, Best Film, will move on to Filmapalooza, the 48-Hour Film Project’s annual international film festival. That event will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2024. A grand champion will be selected from that event, and that film, along with a few other entries, will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner.

All the films submitted for the 48-Hour Film Festival Okanagan will also be screened at the Sundog Festival of Arts and Culture and B.C. Culture Days at the Vernon Towne Theatre on October 10 and 11.

Filmmakers wishing to participate in the 48-Hour Film Project Okanagan can register online.

There will also be information sessions people can attend to learn more about the competition. Those will be held at the Rustic Reel Brewing Company in Kelowna on August 15, at Martin Brewing Co. in Vernon August 19, and at Tempest Theatre and Film Society in Penticton August 20.