Pink Fluffy Hope by Shayna Strype and Dane Manary. Photo: courtesy of the filmmakers
The 48hr Puppet Film Project By Alex U. Griffin
T 18
he palm trees sway in southern California, the setting sun shines, and folks gather for the final screening of the 48hr Puppet Film Project as I check the videos and prepare for my hosting duties. Of course, this is all on- line. For one filmmaker in New York, it is a cold, breezy night, and nearing a sunny lunchtime the next day for filmmakers in Austra- lia. Being forced to go online, the 48hr Puppet Film Project was able to reach and challenge people like never before, with over 130 new puppet films created and submitted in just 48 hours. The festival challenges filmmakers to make an entirely new film from script to final cut in two days. To ensure that the film was not made previously, there are special elements that must be included. In addition to featuring live-performance puppetry, each film had to make use of this year’s unique randomly drawn action (jump), item (cardboard), and theme (hope). With this, each filmmaking crew (or lone person stuck in quarantine) had just 48 hours to write, create, film, edit, and upload their newly produced puppet films!
“Upon getting the prompt,” said first-place film Hope’s Fodder filmmaker Matt Andrews, “puppeteer Jared Ramirez and I got on Zoom and talked story… I thought an original song would really
set our film apart. I wrote the lyrics the first night and sent them along to my talented musician friend, Jeffrey Simon, who sent back final tracks around 5 p.m. the next day.”
“For the first few hours, I was setting up shots and then running behind the set to perform the other character,” continued An- drews. “We shot all through the night and got the last shot around 9 a.m. I edited right up until the last minute, and we got the film in on time.”
I started the 48hr Puppet Film Project with the idea of bringing community together. It’s an incredible rush competing in short- turnaround film competitions, so I wanted to combine that with my passion for puppets-on-film to inspire, activate, and connect puppeteers and filmmakers through this shared experience. “I’ve got three kids, and I’ve got a full-time job, and I felt very re- moved from the puppet community,” noted Hopeful Cat filmmaker Kanja Chen. “I used to be really involved. This, if nothing else, has brought me back into it, and I feel so inspired to reconnect.” The event began in 2018 with a single screening and gathering for the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry. In 2019, we expanded to include New York City with the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York and a screening at the Henson Annex. This year, before the
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