48-hour short film contest to be launched in Daegu

Mooyoungdang, a former department store converted to a cultural space in Daegu / Courtesy of Rainmaker

If you're in Daegu this weekend, prepare for a mad dash of filmmakers urgently working to finish their projects within 48-hours.

Two foreign residents — Irish event organizer Philip Brett and South African filmmaker, artist and actor Boipelo Seswane — are putting on Big Nine Four Eight, a special event for creatives in the southeastern city. The name comes from a literal translation of the name Daegu ("Big Nine," although the real meaning of "-gu" is "hill"), and "Four Eight" stands for the amount of time teams and individual participants have to complete their projects.

The poster for Big Nine Four Eight / Courtesy of Mhan Soo Lee

"In a crazy, possibly sleepless weekend, you and your team (or just you) will write, shoot, edit and score a short film in just 48 hours!" the organizers said in an online invitation to participants.

There is some structure to what films will be made, as each team will be assigned a different prop and line to base their movie around. There is also a list of genres that each team will pick from. All finished projects will be no longer than seven minutes long.

"On Friday, April 5, at 6 p.m., a member of your team will be emailed the Google form along with your assigned prop and line," the invitation continued. "Teams then have 48 hours to complete the film and send us their video by 6 p.m. ... on Sunday, April 7, sharp!"

According to organizers, there is room for only 12 competing filmmaking teams. Each team pays a 20,000 won participation fee to cover the expenses of running the event and prizes. Brett added that there are still openings remaining for more signups.

"Teams that have already signed up or expressed interest range from professional Korean film crews based in Daegu, to foreigners looking to try something new," Brett and Seswane told The Korea Times.

He clarified that participants can sign up and compete from anywhere in Korea, although added they probably won't be able to attend the screening on Sunday.

Only 30 minutes after the deadline, the completed films will be screened at Mooyoungdang, an old department store that has been renovated into a multipurpose space. This event is open to everyone and there is no entry fee, although Brett encouraged nonparticipants to purchase drinks in order to support the sponsors.

Selected teams will win prizes sponsored by 55 Cinema, The Pollack bookstore, Daehwa Mediterranean vegan restaurant, music venue Communes and Noriteo event space. The prizes include coupons for food and drinks at various venues, tickets for live music events and cash for the best film winner and first runner-up.

After the contest, the films will be uploaded to Big Nine Four Eight’s YouTube channel, @BigNineFourEight.

The organizers added that they are collaborating with Jinju English Film Festival (JEFF), organized by Gyeongsang National University School of Language Education. They said the winner of the film contest and another selected by the audience will be screened at JEFF where they will compete for further prizes.

"The goal is to encourage collaboration, drive participation and build community," the organizers said. "Witnessing the loss of previous community spaces such as the Daegu Story Slam and the Daegu Theatre Troupe motivated us towards hopefully reinvigorating the local community."

Follow @bigninefoureight on Instagram for more information or to sign up.