The Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities has successfully run this year’s 36-Hour Film Challenge. The Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts (ACCA building) was packed full with excited participants and viewers of the film festival, produced in collaboration with CINECITY.  

Over 70 students collaborated in nine teams to create the competing films in only 36 hours. The competition allows students to collaborate across various degree programmes and years of study, including those from outside of practice-based degrees such as English, Drama/Theatre, Liberal Arts, Film Studies also taking part in supporting roles.  

The winners of the weekend-long challenge are as follows; 

1st Place = The Chick Flicks – Blue Since The Day We Parted 

Producer - Eloise Gough 

2nd Place = The Masters – One Of Us 

Producer - Paris Vithoulkas 

Joint 3rd Place = Team B – Crystal Killer 

Producer – Yen-Lin WANG  

Joint 3rd Place = We Don’t Know Productions – Take A Chance On Me 

Producer - Sam Anderson-Mohammed 

First prize received £500, second place were given £300 and a £100 prize was won for ‘Best Effort’. 

Students were challenged with incorporating props such as a ladle, scrabble letters, a swimming cap and ceramic piggy bank, whilst filming within mystery parameters, with viewers able to spot locations like the Brighton seafront, Hove Lawns and Stammer Park. 

Will Dare (BA Filmmaking) from The Chick Flicks told us, “Having our film screened in an established event like that before we even handed our first assignments in was a very surreal feeling.”  

Peter Harte, one of the key organisers of the event, said, “Working with a variety of students and meeting people from different courses is a strength that is often commented on by the students themselves. In terms of practice students, the competition prepares them for coursework and the kinds of issues that can arise from film production work.” 

The judging panel included Professor Robin Banerjee - Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement, Professor Kate O' Riordan - Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students, Laura McDermott - Creative Director of the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts and Dr Micheál O'Connell - Senior Lecturer, Creative & Critical Practice. 

36 Hour Film Challenge review - An observer's thoughts by Mark Tournoff

As a tutor in the Media, Arts and Humanities Department, who also runs an organisation that creates original comedic entertainment (The Fun and Laughter Mob), I was very keen to make sure that I was able to attend the screening of the 4-minute films that were created over the course of the weekend of the challenge. I was impressed by everything I watched, and can’t help thinking that all nine films must have come into consideration for prizes. Indeed, the fact that the judges managed to come to their conclusions in just half an hour is in itself somewhat remarkable. 

There was a real buzz of excitement in the Attenborough Centre, generated not only by the enthusiasm of the students and other participants (including some aspiring actors known to me personally who starred in Noah Boyce’s film, ‘Thanks ForThe Music’ by Ripple Voice Productions) but also by the passion for the occasion shown by hosts Catalina Balan and Peter Harte, Lecturers in Video Production. 

The challenge featured the need to involve a prop, a specified location and some connection with ABBA (a group of whom almost everyone involved in the making of the films must surely have been able to say ‘before my time’). The way that various lyrics and themes from ABBA songs were incorporated, sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly, certainly enhanced the entertainment value of the films. 

Congratulations are due to Will Dare (BA Filmmaking) from The Chick Flicks production team, whose film won first prize. A memorable quote was provided by Lily Shepherd (MA Filmmaking) from The Masters, winner of 2nd Prize: "It was a great opportunity to showcase our creative skill sets, grow individually and as part of a collaborative team, giving us all an opportunity to learn from each other and make something we would never have thought of making."  

I would like to recommend that more Sussex staff come forward in future, either to take part as volunteers or to witness the culmination of the event. Make a note in your diaries for this time next year!