72 Film Fest kicks off year 17 with Launch Party

Lauren LaRocca, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·1 min read

Sep. 19—The 72 Film Fest is an annual time-based film competition where teams have 72 hours to make a movie. Based in Frederick, the fest inspires and challenges filmmakers to create a movie based around a specific annual theme, which changes each year and is announced at the Launch Party, along with specific criteria for each team to use when crafting their film.

The Launch Party, hosted by Mikael Johnson and Aura Manjarrez, is open to the public and starts at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Spinners Pinball Arcade, 919 N. East St., Suite B, Frederick. Teams will be set free to start producing films at 9 p.m. that evening.

This year's films will be screened on the big screen on Oct. 7 and 8 at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick. Prizes and awards will be given out in a variety of categories, including writing, acting, cinematography, editing and more. Tickets to the event are available through the Weinberg Center box office.

Students, amateurs and pros created more than 600 films for the festival in its first 16 years.

In addition to inspiring new short films, 72 Fest producers have launched two feature film projects: Samuel Tressler's "Leda," a 3D, black-and-white film based on the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan, and Nickolas Jackson's "The Black Hills Night Hike," a horror anthology based on Maryland myths and monsters that incorporates several filmmakers' short films.

While many of the arts are supported in the area, and have stages or galleries, filmmakers do not have a centralized place to show their work. 72 Film Fest Fest brings attention to the local talent that is thriving here.

For more information, visit 72Fest.com.