We're #2

The "Best Of" screening for the 2012 48 Hour Film Project Boston happened last Wednesday, and since I already spoiled it in the blog title, I'll go right out and say that we finished as the runner up for Boston.  That's great in my book. I was, as the saying goes, "just happy to be there".  In addition, we received awards for Best Ensemble Cast, Best Use of Music (which really, if you had to guess one you'd guess that one), and Best Use of the Required Line of Dialogue. 

Some observations about the evening:

• No complaints whatsoever about the team that was named Best Film.  Manna, by Skiffleboom Productions, was pretty darn amazing.  It made a convincing post catastrophe world out of everyday Boston locations through cinematography, costumes, and staging. Tight, well-written, well-acted. It's a downer whenever a film you don't consider to be good wins the whole thing, but this was not the case this year.
• The other film that I thought might have a chance at the whole thing was Bitter Sweet by Movie Magic Media. It was a silent film, a genre near and dear to my heart, that was lyrical and touching. (I would love to do a silent film for 48 Hour Film Project, or just in general. Can I get anyone else to go along with me? That's the question.) Bitter Sweet was also a great tourism ad for the town of Marblehead, where it was filmed.
• I've only now realized that the Audience Award favorites get screened at the Best Of screening, unless the films weren't submitted on time, like one unfortunate group this year. Maybe that would explain some of the shrugworthy films, mostly crass comedies, that made their way into the Best Of screenings over the years. That and old-fashioned ballot stuffing. It also means that if you weren't an audience choice and are in the Best Of screening, the judges really liked you.
• Ourmaggedon seemed to connect much better in this screening than in the original one.  Maybe because we were near the beginning rather than near the end and the audience was less punchy?  Who knows?
• Malarkey Films has now finished as runner-up twice in these competitions. Here, in the 2011 "Go Green" version of the 48 Hour Film Project, and was also a finalist in the 2010 National Film Challenge.  They didn't name a runner-up there, but I wouldn't be surprised if we were runner-up or close to it.  The point is that it's a damn good team, and I hope I can get a larger project off the ground with them.
• Oh yes, Anna Callahan, the musical director of Ourmageddon, just won a $20,000 grant for her idea about matching sponsors with filmmakers.  My comprehension of what this entails is incomplete, but I believe that film teams will pitch ideas to sponsors to make films possibly incorporating their products and services?  In any case, if it leads to more opportunities, it'll be a win. I could totally write a webseries featuring your insurance office.