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WNC city part of 80 worldwide participating in project

ASHEVILLE – This month, Asheville is among 80 cities worldwide to cram as much creativity, sleepless stress and fervent filmmaking into a 48-hour period as possible.

June 18 marks the kickoff of Asheville's sixth 48 Hour Film Project, one of many international film events where teams are given two days, seven minutes of run time and a few other bizarre restrictions with which they create a quick-and-quality short film.

Filmmakers from all over Western North Carolina and beyond will first gather at Asheville Brewing Co. to decide their cinematic fate for the project, randomly choosing a specific character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre that must be included in every team's film.

Last year, for instance, Asheville teams had to include a ball player named “Lefty or Leann Lober,” glue as a prop and the line, “I wish I had an answer for you” within their randomly selected genres.

Some 48 creative and sleepless hours later, the film must be written, shot, edited, scored and dropped off for a public screening and awards ceremony, to be held June 30 at the Fine Arts Theatre.

The same process takes place all over the globe, culminating in an international Filmapalooza, where the best of the 300 total films are screened and an overall winner is chosen.

Now going into its 10th year as a national event, the project is as much about community building and fostering creativity as it is about the competition, said co-founder and executive producer Liz Langston.

“I don't think people realize what a big project this is,” said MK Harrison, Asheville's project producer. “My goal this year is to produce a winner and compete on the international level, because I know Asheville can do that!”

While most of the sweat during the 48-hour frenzy happens behind the camera, filmmaker and three-time participant Tony Torn says the stress and sleeplessness are well worthwhile.

“When Sunday rolls around at about 4 and the film is due in three hours and I haven't slept, I tell myself every year, I will never do this again,” he said. “But when the dust settles, the end result is too gratifying, so we keep coming back.”

Torn, a producer, a director and actor who splits his time between Marshall and New York City, collaborates with friend and local conceptual artist Jimmy O'Neal every year on the film project.

With acting and production assistance from about 10 friends and family, Torn and O'Neal took home awards for Best Location, Best Costumes and Best Storyline in 2009 for their short film, “The Left Handed Way.”

“It really blows the dust out of the pipes,” Torn said. “Filmmaking has such a long development process that can be a really frustrating endeavor. This is just such a great creative process and it's instantly gratifying.”

According to Harrison, only about half of the participants are professional filmmakers.

“I love the diversity we see in this project,” said Harrison. “We really encourage everyone to get involved. It's amazing how much talent is out there.”

This year, teams will be accepted on a first come, first served basis but spaces are still available for film professionals and novices alike to register and compete in the project.

A few spots are still open for this year's event and a special "Last Call" event will take place on June 17th, the night before the event kicks off, for a meet and greet as well as a question and answer session.