Maybe you can’t be an overnight sensation, but here’s your chance to be Almost Famous in 48 hours!
All you have to do is take a theme, a prop, a line of dialogue and 48 hours and you could be the grand prize winner of the 7th Annual 48 Hour Short Film Challenge!  Hey, this is how James Cameron did it, so why not you? Even if you don’t win, just participating is going to be a blast!
Jae Staats, Founder and Executive Director of the Almost Famous Film Festival, says this year’s event is looking to be the best ever with the winners of the comedy and drama categories receiving $500 dollars each.
The 48-hour challenge requires teams to make a 1-5 minute film based on a theme, prop and a line of dialogue dictated by Staats and his fellow organizers.  The guidelines will be revealed on Friday, Feb. 18 at the kickoff party at Majerle’s Sports Grill in Downtown Phoenix from 5-7 p.m. The contest is open to all ages and free to attend.
Teams have exactly two days (yes, that’s 48 hours) to choose their locations, gather their cast and crew, write their scripts, shoot and edit their films, and then turn in a completed movie by the 48-hour deadline.
So, how do you get started?  Just fill out the entry form and cough up $40 bucks, but do it now as it goes up to $50 on Jan 18.  Remember, fame is just around the corner and Almost Famous for everybody; you don’t have to be a polished filmmaker to participate.  The 48-hour challenge requires only actors, location sites, volunteers and lots of enthusiasm, so everyone qualifies.
The deadline is firm and Staats says entrants have come flying though the door at the last minute with their work still on their laptops, in a wheelbarrow, and even in pieces in a suitcase.
After the films are turned in, a panel of judges watch and score the moves to create a Top 20 list.  These films are then screened before a sold-out audience at AMC 24 at Arizona Center on March 3 with an awards program following the screening. 
Staats says that having a festival like this in our own backyard is an opportunity to show what Phoenix is all about.  We have talent, creative genius and a wonderful community that the world needs to see and this is one of the best ways to get the real people of Phoenix in the spotlight!!
 
For all the details visit www.thea3f.net or call 602-295-3147.
 
See you at the movies!!