Competing in last year's 48 Hour film festival was extremely rewarding. The opportunity to be creative with friends from my home town of Bangor, ME in spirited, artistic competition was well worth the lack of sleep that the producing the winning film demanded.
Well, I'll be honest with you- I slept during the final hours of the competition as my teammates Ian Bagley, Schuyler Kelly and Ian Smith put the finishing touches on our short, "Personae". My defense was that someone had to be away the next day to ensure that the film was submitted on time, but I don't think they minded one bit that I was passed out- well, except for the snoring.
But it is pretty special to spend 48 hours with anyone, let alone other strong minded individuals in a creative competition that you have never worked with before, and to only get annoyed with snoring. Working with Ian, Schyuler and Ian reminded me how successful groups of people can be that all share a common goal and can effectively communicate ideas and opinions.
Beyond the excitement of being part of a positive and supportive group of individuals was the joy of spending time in Bangor, a place that I had not lived in since leaving for college. Our film had different shots from Bangor's downtown, including two shots that employed local residents to play a role in the film! People in Bangor were really supportive of our film and of the festival in general, something that will hopefully continue this summer.
It was also nice to have my father be a part of the production process. In our film, we decided to make the main character, James, be a radio DJ because we had access to the WERU studio in Blue Hill, ME. My father's role in the film was short but has been mentioned many times by my friends from across the US that have viewed the short on the Bangor Film Festival web site.
Again, it was a great experience for me to be able to reconnect with friends, the city I grew up in and with my family that still lives here. It was also nice to have our film be selected as the best out of such an impressive collection of work. Since winning the Bangor 48 Hour Film Festival, "Personae" has received another award at the 5 College Film Festival in Massachusetts for Best Narration, something that I felt was overlooked at the Bangor showing. The film will be shown for a week in North Hampton, MA starting next Monday.
Ian, Schuyler, Ian and myself (Bromine Productions) are looking forward to the competition this summer. We know that the bar has been set from last year's entries and even more teams will probably be involved. But, even without focusing on the competition, winning and losing, it is nice to look forward to another 48 hours with friends and family in good ole' Bangor.
-A F Bourgoin
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