48 Hour Film Festival Comes to Providence

For months you’ve been getting your team ready, and then you get the assignment: a genre, a prop, a line of dialogue and a character. Now you’ve got just 48 hours to make a movie!

It’s going to be an intense, sleepless, caffeine-driven madhouse of creativity and chaos. But that is what makes The 48 Hour Film Project so awesome!

For Melinda Rainsberger, city producer for Providence, it’s a passion and a challenge that she’s loved for the last eight years. “It’s the most intense 48 hours of my life every year!” she tells me.

For the ninth year, the Rhode Island Film Collaborative (RIFC) will run Providence’s chapter of The 48. RIFC president, Anthony Ambrosino, said, “The amount of hard work and creativity that goes into one 48-hour period is staggering. We’re proud to give local filmmakers this opportunity to showcase their talents in the spirit of friendly artistic competition.”

This is no rinky-dink film festival; The 48 spans 130 cities on six continents, from San Diego to Taipei. Winning films from local contests compete for the international title of Best Film of the 2014 48 Hour Film Project. Cash prizes and bragging rights are also awarded. Winners of The Providence 48 will compete in New England’s ITVFest, and the winner of that will receive $1,000. Other prizes for local winners include gift certificates, studio time at Kay Studios, acting lessons with LDI Casting Director Anne Mulhall and tix to the SENE Film Festival. Nationally, winners will get $5,000 and a whole host of bonuses including screenings of their films in venerated venues such as Filmapalooza, South by Southwest and Cannes.

But there’s more than just money or prizes involved. Some contestants started their own production companies, some found their calling as actors or directors, and some simply managed to get out of their comfort zones and try something truly amazing — instead of just talking about being creative, The 48 gives them the chance to be creative.

“When you’re spontaneous, it shows how creative you can be,” Melinda says, “especially under such a tight deadline.”

Registration is available until Friday, July 11. Visit 48hourfilm.com/en/providence for details and registration information. Providence’s best films will be screened at Cinemaworld in Lincoln on July 15th through 17th.