The Screening

Innis town hall. 7pm. I'm in a theatre with a load of crazy film guerillas (like myself) and it's time to see what there is to see. I don't know what to expect - 48 hours means little time to 'fix it in post' - not to mention that the limitations on equipment. Most people are doubtless using handicams and whatever mic is in the camera.

13 films screened tonight. Of the 57 teams, 49 submitted a finished project. 39 submitted on time, and are therefore eligible for the prizes - which will be presented at the Gala on July 7th at the York Event Theatre- and you can be there! To win tickets, look for the instructions at the end of this post. Remember to look nice. I'll be taking pictures. (And interviewing the filmmakers who attend, so if you're on one of the teams and at the Gala, come find me).

I'm nervous, and excited, and intensely curious to see what the other filmmakers threw together. Everyone else seems to feel the same. Though this is a competition, there's a sense of camaraderie in the audience - the shared mission, the sleep deprivation - there isn't any malicious judgment, just a bunch of filmies waiting to be entertained by their compatriots' projects.

Each piece had strengths and weaknesses - making good use of prop or location, some wandered a bit on the plot - but there were some standouts.

Out of Order made excellent use of their given location - Outer Space. Initially a baffling, and funny, sequence of locations and events, the punchline in the final scene is totally worth the wait.

The Blue Seal had the best production value of the evening - visually really cool and put together, which fit well with the assigned action genre. (Though I suspect the untitled piece that screened last would have looked as sweet with a bit more editing time).

The lead actor in Jack (a long joke about masturbating - double-entendres galore) had fantastic facial expressions - I wish my eyebrows had that kind of flexibility. It also had a random ninja, of which I totally approve.

Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry, a mock-doc masquerading as a sci-fi/fantasy, had my favourite actor of the night - Cole Bastedo. So adorable was he as the roommate of someone who's ever hunting the unicorn that stole his wallet that I have a crush on him now.

Some titles showing tonight and Friday that sound promising include: This Never Happened: a closer look at performance art, Ordinary Superheroes, An Occurrence at Alvaro Thomas Monastery, and Misadventures of Man Beast eating Machino and Lady Eve. Don't even try to pretend you're not curious about that last one.

If you're willing to wait for the top 15, here's your chance to win those tickets I keep going on about.

The third person to email me (not post a comment) with the correct answer to this question will receive two tickets to the Gala on July 7th.

What is the title of the film I worked on for the Toronto Film Challenge?

The answer is in this post.