Mumbai Filmmakers race for Best Short in 48 hours

The exciting and challenging short film competition, the Mumbai 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) is back in the city from Friday October 9 to Sunday Oct 11, 2015. The 48HFP is the world’s largest time-bound short film competition held in 140 cities worldwide. It will start and finish at the Western Express Highway Metro Station. Teams will vie for the Best Film prize of Rs. 25,000 and script, shoot, edit, submit a short in just 48 hours. The short films created over the weekend will be screened at the Bahar theatre, Andheri (W) the following week. The winnning film gets Rs. 25,000, and the top shorts will also be featured on MTV Indies. Registrations are on and filling fast; see link below.

The 48HFP is organised in India by Yogi Chopra and Preeti Gopalkrishnan in four cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai, with Bangalore following suit. The duo has packed a punch this year by roping in MTV Indies to showcase the top shorts. “This should really excite our teams - to see their hard work on a TV channel! We hope this brings out the best talent from India’s film hub,” says Gopalkrishnan. Speaking about the profile of the participants, Chopra says, “The competition attracts the best talent from around the country, from professionals like ad filmmakers, Bollywood assistant directors (ADs) to docu-makers. Students and amateur short filmmakers too participate in large numbers.”

The duo has been organising this event since 2010 and each year over 1000 filmi types from South Mumbai to Ghodbunder Road in Thane race to beat the clock and quell all obstacles to make it to the deadline. There’s no second chance… even a few seconds late and the film is deemed a “Late Film” and it is out of the competition. Even outstation teams take part by sending in a team member for the Kick Off on Friday. On Sunday, the film has to be delivered in person on a DVD, pen drive. Uploading or transferring the files are not an option and no extra credit is given to outstation teams. All the films made in the competition, on time and late are screened, and the film teams really look forward to the premiere screenings.

So what makes people take up this challenge year after year? “It’s only the absolutely crazy, wild, mad folks who want to test their limits who take such a challenge. It’s not for the mild hearted. And certainly not for the one who cannot work in a team. Team and time management are the most important skills required, “says Gopalkrishnan. The competition has eminent jury members like Habib Faisal, Amol Palekar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Parvin Dabas, Rajit Kapur in the past. "The jury for 2015 will be revealed soon," adds Chopra. 

To register:
https://www.48hfp.in/48hfp-mumbai-2015/