Two days, a strict 48 hours, to create an idea and bring it to life on the silver screen. The 48 Hour Film Project tests the resolve of Bay Area filmmakers, pitting them against one another for a trophy and a spot at the Filmapalooza Film Festival. And that is just what five LPC students earned.
Four students from Las Positas College took home top prizes at the 48 Hour Film Project in San Francisco, one of them being a screening at Filmapolooza next year. “Special,” produced by Awocan Productions, is a sci-fi film mockumentary made to capture the life of a scientifically created boy born from synthetic DNA.
“Special” took home first place for best film of 2018. The team also won best writing and audience favorite. “Special” was directed by Sami Cowan and produced by Geneva May Colcol who make the team of Awocan Productions.
The 48 Hour Film Project has 36 teams across the Bay Area complete and turn in a short film in only 48 hours. These teams are given a specific line, character, and prop at the time of the assignment. After they are given the elements, teams have to write the script of the film, go through production, post production and finally submit the film before the 48 hour deadline.
The Las Positas students involved in the film were Sami Cowan who directed the film, Alynn Lima as production assistant, Celia Reddoch as one of the actresses, Seth Benton as the script supervisor and Geneva May Colcol as the producer. All of the students are members of theatre and are passionate about the arts.
The theatre department at LPC does not focus on film, but that doesn’t mean that theatre professor Titian Lish and her students aren’t passionate about it. “It was really exciting and wonderful to see them take what they knew here and be able to translate it into another medium, it just felt like the world is going to open up to all of them” Lish said.
Geneva May Colcol, a 21-year-old studying theatre arts at Las Positas College and producer of “Special” stated, “They have definitely used the skill sets of being proactive and initiative for this project.” Colcol became producer because of her committed and determined mindset to reach out for other people to be actors and be apart of this project along with her.
From working as a Starbucks barista Monday through Thursday from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. and being a theatre student at Las Positas, Geneva is on a rough path to pursue her dream in the film industry. She pushes forward with a positive and strong mindset, “As long as you stay focused and as long as you have a passion, don’t let anybody or anything sway you. If it’s something the makes you happy, you should do it,” Colcol said.
As the reward for winning first place for best film of 2018, “Special” took home a trophy, free software for screenwriting and a screening at a film festival. Representing San Francisco against other films around the world at the Filmapalooza festival in Orlando Florida in March 2019.
