The 2012 Guerilla Film Challenge (formerly the 48GFC) will take place the weekend of May 18, 2012, and challenges indie filmmakers to write, direct, shoot, and edit a topical short film in 48 hours. Nick and Clint (the duo behind the contest) are great guys and I look forward to judging the contest this year along with Mitch from planet5D (and others). Here's the launch trailer and details on the contest -- which has a $5,000 grand prize -- as well as a discount code for any No Film Schoolers who might be interested in entering:
That thing with the Freddy hand in the bathtub... happens to me all the time.
To get a discount entry, use this link with discount code "NOFILM" -- the first 10 free entries will be 100% free, and everyone after that will get 20% off the entry fee. $5,000 prize or not, the real contest is to challenge yourself to work hard for 48 hours and hopefully make something good -- and get better at your craft in the process.
Official Press Release
The 2012 Guerrilla Film Challenge (formerly the 48Hour Guerrilla Film Competition or 48GFC) – competition dates have been officially announced! The 2012 event will take place the weekend of Friday, May 18th, 2012.
The Guerrilla Film Challenge pits students and first-time filmmakers against experienced veterans and industry professionals in a race against the clock to write, shoot, edit and deliver a complete short film in 48 hours or less. Teams are encouraged to improvise, adapt and overcome all creative limitations using ‘guerrilla’ style tactics and techniques. On Friday May 18th, all teams who enter will be randomly assigned a genre, line of dialogue, action or prop, which must be featured in their film – then they’re off! Teams will have 48 hours to deliver a complete film, with genre’s ranging from Horror, to Action/Adventure, Comedy, Westerns and Sci-Fi, to name a few. The winning team takes home a $5000 grand prize.
Entries are judged by a panel of industry-experts across a spectrum of categories with creativity and originality weighted most heavily. The invaluable experience and varying backgrounds of the judging panel ensures that only the best of the best are awarded top prizes, regardless of budget or quality of equipment used. Past celebrity judges include Ghostbuster, actor and director, Ernie Hudson, comedy legend Dick Smothers and star of stage and screen, Audrey Landers, to name a few.
The Guerrilla Film Challenge was created to motivate filmmakers and creatives to ‘get out there and start creating!’ By providing a framework and strict timetable, participants are forced to throw out all excuses and focus on the craft of making film, all the while enduring ‘real world’ pressures such as teamwork organization, leadership, compromise and tight deadlines. “You can’t make a diamond without pressure. We designed this challenge to force people to realize that there are no limitations to what you can do if you just give yourself the opportunity.” Says Clint Weldon, Co-Founder of the event.
The results are often astounding. Those who’ve never picked up a camera might discover that they were born to direct while the most seasoned professionals can crumble under the pressures of such an unforgiving timetable. This may partly explain how the event has grown from a small, local contest into a global challenge spanning six continents with thousands of participants annually.
Past and present partners and sponsors include the notable industry blogs No Film School.com and Planet5D.com as well as Red Bull, Starbucks and The State College of Florida.
