Director Of New Zealand’s 48 Hour Fest Talks With WWFF
Anthony Timpson is the Director of the New Zealand 48 Hour Film Festival. The festival draws in hundreds of entries and is the largest marathon film fest in the world. We recently chatted with Anthony about his festival and what makes it unique.
” I think the reason the event is one of the largest of its kind is the simple fact that I am obsessive about films and have been working in the industry for a couple of decades. I have a good history of exhibition and distribution and a high profile in NZ in regards to film in general.”
Timpson’s festival is so large that it encompasses every major city in New Zealand. The pick up and drop off is from 7PM on Friday to 7PM on Sunday. Each team draws from a hat to discover what genre of film they have to make. Each film must be from 3 to 7 minutes in length.
Timpson has friends in high places. Peter Jackson the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy helps with the event. “Getting the filmmaker Peter Jackson involved helped with the profile – Peter is an old acquaintance who loves the nature of the event – and always talks about entering each year. A lot of his workers do! He puts up cash for it and is our special selector.”
The New Zealand 48 hour event may be slightly different than the WWFF but the energy and soul is the same.
“The spirit of the competition comes from those weekends I used to have as a teen when we made a short every weekend. That same spirit is alive and well with this competition. Sure there is some industry clout involved but the anarchic and fun nature of those old weekends shines through.”
Not only is the film festival New Zealand’s largest, but it is also its most popular. Timpson broadcasts the finalists on C4, New Zealand’s equivalent to MTV. Viewers at home are then invited to vote on their favorites.
The Wild West Film Fest has a long way to go, but we are inspired by Mr. Timpson’s amazing fest. Give us a couple years – you never know!
Thanks to Anthony Timson for talking with WWFF. Check out Timson’s 48 Hours at:
“What a great opportunity for young filmmakers to show their craft for good causes. Everybody wins!”
“The Wild West Film Fest has been bringing it to the Lawrence film scene. It is one of the best examples of what filmmakers are looking for in a festival.”
“The Wild West Film Fest puts filmmaking back into the hands of the people. It’s indy film in it’s purest, grittiest form. A great opportunity for local filmmakers to get their work seen by audiences.”
Rad!