Cape Town-based production company Benchfilms and their film Past
Tense took the award for Best Film at the 2012 Cape Town 48 Hour Film
Project (48HFP) – a film competition which challenges entrants to write, shoot, edit
and deliver a short film in 48 hours. Producer Hisham Samie reflects on the win,
which gave the Bench team an opportunity to the walk the red carpet at the Cannes
Film Festival, and offers advice to filmmakers entering in the 2014 competition, set to
kick off on 31 October.
“The exposure and hype for Benchfilms was great,’ says Samie. “We followed our film
to LA and Cannes where we got to meet fellow filmmakers from all round world and
expand on our network beyond South Africa.’
The 48HFP sees 120 participating cities and approximately 22 000 entries from
around the world every year. Registration costs R1 000 per team and entries close on
20 October 2014. Submitted films screen at Ster Kinekor Nouveau for the public and
a panel of experts judges.
“The pressure of time is something all filmmakers are used to, but when the usual
process of making a film is compressed in to 48 hours, the results are interesting. You
are forced get rid of the fluff and focus only what is needed,’ recalls Samie.
After drawing a film genre teams will start working on a script which must include
specific allocated characters, names, a prop and a line of dialogue.
Benchfilms producer and scriptwriter Margaret Zambonini advises, “For us there was
a tremendous team dynamic and this is what worked. We each knew each other’s
strengths. We keep a very calm set. A team working together like this can achieve so
much in a short period of time.’
“Having a cohesive team is vital. Making sure everyone has their role and trusting
that person in that role is really important,’ adds Samie. “The best advice is to focus
on story and keep it simple.’
Visit the 48HFP website
for more information.
