More than 375 students in the School of Media, Art & Design (MAD) started their new academic year off with a friendly creative competition earlier this month during the fourth annual 48-Hour Film Challenge. Beginning September 4, 40 teams of students with participants spanning four MAD programs, were assigned a genre, character type, line of dialogue, and a prop. They were then tasked with writing, shooting and editing a short film in only two days.

Second-year and graduate-program students participating as veterans were also required to take on the role of producer or director to make the competition more challenging for them. On September 7, the films were screened at the Cineplex Odeon Theatre in Oshawa and judged by a panel of industry professionals.

Members of the film crew for this year’s best picture winner, The Box, which included David Foote, Milan Seratlic, Justin Chisholm, Anurag Parteek Singh, Sri Chilkamarri, Evan Cane, Anfernee Robinson, Wang Mengheng, Shayne Hamilton and Cameron Burns, will now have their names engraved on the prestigious Deanie Award, a trophy featuring a miniature likeness of MAD executive dean Greg Murphy. The team also won first place in the Best Adventure category.

The following films were also honoured at the screening:

• The Exhibition – Best Mystery
• Gory Gloves – Best Horror
• The Furry Foot Bandit – Best Western

“This competition underscores the challenge of working within real deadlines and highlights the importance of developing strong communication and collaboration skills,” said Jennifer Bedford, a professor in both the Photography and Video Production programs for MAD. “While we typically hold this event mid-semester, this year we ran the challenge during the first week of school to give our students a taste of the industry right off the bat, while also introducing them to the School of Media, Art and Design and the supportive faculty and employees who will guide them through their program over the next semester.”

The following industry professionals and DC employees comprised the jury which chose the winners in all categories: Eileen Kennedy, liaison, Durham Region Film Office; Sami Jewer, DC alumna and independent filmmaker; Lisa Shepard, dean, International Education at DC; Greg Murphy, dean, MAD at DC; Andy Malcolm, foley artist, Footsteps Studios; and Peter Garrett, manager, Strategic Reporting and Government Relations, DC.

The film challenge brought together students from DC’s programs in Broadcasting for Radio & Contemporary Media, Media Fundamentals, Photography and Video Production, along with mentoring staff and faculty.

The largest competition of its kind in Canada, the event is designed to help students meet and collaborate across program boundaries and form a community of emerging content creators. It also provides students with an opportunity to flex their creativity and develop soft skills, such as communication, teamwork and problem solving, which are vital to achieving success after graduation.