STEPHENVILLE, NL – If you see ghosts, ghouls and goblins running around in a town near you this weekend, don’t be alarmed. Instead, grab your camera and your video might win an award at 48-Hour Halloween Film Festival, organized by College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Digital Filmmaking program.
The program has made no bones about issuing a provincial challenge to create short Halloween films from October 27-29. This timed filmmaking competition dares individuals and teams to carve out a Halloween story idea, shoot the film, and edit the footage into a short horror film – all within 48 hours.
“This is a great opportunity for anybody who is interested in filmmaking and the process of filmmaking,” said instructor Peter Buckle.
“Halloween is becoming increasingly popular, and one thing we have always noticed with our students is that they tend to be the type of people who absolutely love Halloween. I think it has something to do with telling spooky stories and being able to dress up and be someone else for a day. It really gets them in the spirit.”
Buckle says they wanted to do something that would encourage the Halloween spirit, and they conjured up the Halloween Film Festival as a way for people to express themselves creatively.
“We didn’t do a 48-hour film festival last year, but we still had people make films. We also showed some of our older films that had a horror theme to them, but this year, we wanted to go bigger and better.”
On Friday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m., participants will meet in the lecture theatre at CNA in Stephenville. Interested film buffs from outside the area must tune in online where the opening ceremony will be live-streamed on the Digital Filmmaking Facebook page (@cnafilm).
Teams will be given three spine-tingling clues that must be used in the final version of the film. These clues could be anything from lines of dialogue, props, costumes, themes, etc. At 6:30 p.m., contestants will hang out for a spell and begin the process of telling their scary stories through film.
“What’s great is that people can use any equipment they have to shoot their films. You can use a camcorder, cell phone, anything at all really. It’s not just about creating the most professional looking film. We have awards to hand out for 12 categories.”
All films must be submitted via Youtube.com on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m., they will then be reviewed by a third-party panel comprised of CNA staff. The screening of the final cuts will take place on Monday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in CNA’s lecture theatre in Stephenville. The festival and award ceremony will also be live-streamed on the Digital Filmmaking Facebook page.
To register for this spook-tacular 48-hour film festival, simply fill out and submit the application form by Friday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. For the registration form, or for more information, visit www.cna.nl.ca/halloween.
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Media Contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca