“It’s not the end”, the clown, the bridge – the phrase and two items were on the creative assignment of the eighth competition of short films, 48 Hour Film Race. The assignment with ‘markers’ is given to make it clear that teams have not had any templates, but worked within the equal time limits – 48 hours. Moreover, the items and the phrase have become the starting point for creative searches of participants of the 48 Hour Film Race. Well, let’s take a look at the winners.
On September 20, 2023, the gala screening of 48 short films, which were top 48 films of the 48 Hour Film Race (48HFR) competition, took place in Almaty (Kazakhstan).
This competition was first held in Almaty in 2015 as part of the festival of auteur’s films, Clique Fest. The project resumed in 2017, and involved participants from all over Kazakhstan. The 48HFR has been held in Central Asian states since 2018. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan has supported the projects all this time.
Participants always have a difficult task to cope with. They have 48 hours to come up with a scenario, make and edit a short film. Also, the organisers impose obligations on participants – they give them an assignment that must be included in the film. This year, as it has been already said, amateurs and professionals taking part in the 48HFR were to include two items (clown, bridge) and one phrase (“It’s not the end”) in their films.
Participants have surprised the audience attending the gala screening by the diverse interpretation of “compulsory material” by the teams. In some films, the bridge and the clown were main characters, in other – a part of the interior, which slightly opened the biography of the character. The phrase (“It’s not the end”) was either interwoven with the routine dialogue of characters, or was the last phrase in the film. It made the finale open-ended making the audience come up with the storyline and the world beyond the film.
It was very challenging for the jury to select winners in 11 nominations out of 48 films (over 300 films were submitted to the competition).
So, who are the winners?
Best film – “Border”, Tajikistan
Partner’s choice – “Nim”, Turkmenistan
Best amateur film – “A bit of messing around”, Kyrgyzstan
Best student film – “Seller of happiness”, Kyrgyzstan
Special jury prize “And you”, Kazakhstan, and “You are lucky”, Kazakhstan
Special mention by Almaty Cinema School – “Unfinished dance”, Kyrgyzstan
Best comedy – Hakikat TV, Uzbekistan
Best action film – “Baursak Man”, Kazakhstan
Best drama/melodrama – “Don’t look at me”, Kazakhstan
Best horror/thriller – “А Toy”, Kyrgyzstan
Best sci-fi/fantasy – “eBobo”, Tajikistan
Best musical/experimental film – “Unfinished dance”, Kyrgyzstan
We congratulate the winners and remind that next year anyone can apply for participation (for details see here). 48 Hour Film Race will become a real training platform for you and a chance to see your work on the big screen: all works are screened in film theatres during pre-selection, and top 48 films will be shown at the gala screening.