The 88 Hour Film Continuum

On Tuesday, November 26th, filmmakers and an eager audience gathered in the middle school cafeteria to watch a night of student-made films. Every film shown was shot, edited, and submitted in 88 hours over the Columbus Day Weekend. On the Friday before the short break, the groups were given a genre, as well as a communal name, occupation, prop and quote that had to be used throughout the film.

The night started off with an introduction video shot by the officers of the Film Club, before President Kyle Tsang and Club Advisor Mr. Goldstein got up and shared some words. They were dressed in black t-shirts donning the logo of the continuum. There were 8 teams that created films this year, increasing the number of groups by 2 from the previous year before.

The screening was just over an hour, with fresh popcorn and refreshments being sold with the funds going to the Film Club. Film names included Iovino and the Chocolate Factory, Zeppolia, This Film Makes No Sense, and more. After all the films finished, filmmakers from each group were asked to come up to the front to answer questions. They were asked their most memorable moment from the weekend, what they wish they could’ve done differently, and advice to future 88 participants in the crowd.

After the quick Q&A, the teams were asked to sit down as the officers presented the awards. Included in the awards were Best Performance (won by Kevin Pimentel in This Film Makes No Sense), Best Cinematography (won by the film Zeppolia), and Best Editing (also won by Zeppolia).

The award of Best Film went to The Action Movie by seniors Brendan Murray, Willie Christiano, Dom Reisman, Joe Gomez and Josh Flores.

“The 88 was a fun experience and we all learned a lot about making movies” stated Murray, who was the primary director for the film.

The feedback from the filmmakers was all positive.

“Overall in nearly every step, the experience was pretty great. Obviously it got frustrating at some parts, like when your computer runs out of storage or the camera battery dies after you’ve driven 30 minutes away to film” stated Club Treasurer and Zeppolia director Danny Orlando. “However, the rush of making a movie over the course of 88 hours is a feeling like no other”

The Film Club has two more major events this school year, as they have the Spring Stand Up Comedy Show on April 24th and the 17th annual EHS Film Festival on May 29th.